In Vienna Park:

Braving rain and storms on 5000-kilometer run

Shamita Achenbach-König at the finish line after her 3100-mile (5000-kilometer) run around Vienna's Joseph Kainz Park.(Bild: Zur Verfügung gestellt)

Over 200 marathons, numerous ultra runs, over 100,000 kilometers in total. A Viennese cellist is one of Austria's most extreme athletes. Shamita Achenbach-König recently completed a 5,000-kilometer run in a Viennese park in 49 days, defying the five-day "deluge" in September.

Everyone in the east of Austria can still remember the rain of the century and the storm in September. Everyone who was able to stay at home was happy. Shamita Achenbach-König spent 16 hours a day running around Vienna's Joseph Kainz Park during her run, which started on September 9: "The streets were completely empty. It felt like a non-stop shower. I changed every two hours because everything was wet despite my rain jacket and poncho. Of course you think about stopping. Even without such capricious weather conditions, the mental strain is enormous. But thanks to my many helpers, I was able to pull it off."

The team, which consisted of friends from Austria, Germany, Holland, France, Poland, Bulgaria and Ireland, kept setting up the supply tent. Shamita's husband Stephan, first violinist with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, then rebuilt it a little and made it weatherproof.

From September 12 to 16, she also braved the "deluge" and the storm.(Bild: Zur Verfügung gestellt)

His wife got up at 4.00 a.m. every day and then ran from 4.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. before bathing and massages were on the program. Achenbach-König was on the road for 49 days and nine hours, consuming 14 pairs of shoes and thousands of calories a day. In the evening she had a warm meal, and during the run she fortified herself with mango, papaya, blueberries and special gingerbread with lots of nuts and oil: "My dear husband bought up the supplies in the health food stores in Vienna."

"It was a run for peace"
Why would anyone undertake such a 3100-mile (5000-kilometer) run? Achenbach-König, who also created an elaborate YouTube video of her running adventure (see below), says: "It was a run for peace in the world. We decorated and painted the route accordingly. My great inspiration is Sri Chinmoy, who dedicated his entire life to peace." The Indian was a well-known meditation teacher. The cellist explains: "He believed that meditation would bring peace to the world and that running is a dynamic form of meditation."

Already run over 100,000 kilometers
Achenbach-König has also used the power of meditation to run from Vienna to Bregenz, Paris, Heidelberg and St. Petersburg. He has also run over 200 marathons and numerous other ultra competitions. In total, Shamita has already run over 100,000 kilometers, including training.