09/09/2026
Runreport from Chelsea: Donauradweg parkrun, Linz, Austria
A very cute, young and small parkrun, and one I was very excited to tick off. Coming from England, I was happy to finally get my Austrian parkrun flag!
I missed parkrun the previous week as I was a bridesmaid at my best friend’s wedding. While I was spending the morning getting my hair and makeup done and getting ready for the big day, my other friends were off doing Donaupark parkrun in Vienna! I had originally planned to do that one too, but knowing my partner and I, we love travelling far too much, so our plans turned into travelling around Slovakia and Austria. We eventually ended up in Linz, and when I realised there was a parkrun here, I was very happy!
We arrived early and had a little explore, including Under the Bridge, a really cool urban space beneath the Neue Eisenbahnbrücke. We loved the retro cars, campervan, artwork and the whole quirky atmosphere there.
I spotted a couple of people who looked like they might be parkrunners and went over to ask if parkrun was taking place, just as the lovely volunteers arrived. Everyone was so friendly and we got chatting straight away. They noticed I was deaf and kindly relayed some of the information to me, which was really lovely and very much appreciated.
They also spotted my partner’s Insta360 and were intrigued by it, so hopefully he’ll have a little movie for you guys!
It was also a nice surprise to find out that the Run Director was from England. Small world!
Although, whilst I was happily chatting away, I completely failed to realise that parkrun had actually started! Cue me playing catch up whilst trying to start my Strava and choose a song to run to. Not exactly the smoothest start!
After a very hot week, it was actually really nice to see the rain on a Saturday morning. A cool, rainy run was exactly what I needed. Running along the Danube, with the Austrian air and a small group of runners, made for such a lovely atmosphere.
The course was a very flat out and back, and I even ended up chatting to another runner along the way. Apparently I can’t do a parkrun anywhere without making friends!
It was lovely to spot the bridge coming back towards the finish too. Such a simple but memorable little run.
Massive thank you to all the volunteers for making my first Austrian parkrun experience so great. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and it was such a lovely way to experience Linz.
Austria has definitely stolen my heart again after my third visit and I’ll be back again, hopefully to tick off a few more Austrian parkruns.