It was the 18th time the Vienna-Bratislava-Budapest supermarathon was organised, an event which, in its own right, is unparalleled in Europe and has turned into a significant event not only in the field of athletics, but sports in general, including in Hungary. Amongst its midst were several Russian, Polish, Austrian, German and Romanian athletes creating an international field.All of the relay teams made it to the finish line with 41 of the 51 competitors of the individual race making it running the whole distance – a rare thing to happen in the history of the race. Yet bad weather had also put the athletes’ endurance to test.

To streamline the organisation and management of the event even further, this year satellite navigation was called upon to help. As a joint offer by the BluePanther Team and Nav N Go Kft., 15 navigation devices with iGO My way European navigation software were provided. As a result of this, routes were defined by GPS coordinates making it possible to track the performance of the runners more closely. During the race, the devices made it into some of the 200 accompanying cars as well as to checkpoints.

“In earlier years, inspectors often had a hard time finding a small settlement, especially in Austria. They had barely just made it to the location by the time the runners arrived. This time they were also equipped with GPS coordinates and as a result they made it to all the locations.The bus transporting those attending the athletes was also using BluePanther devices, which made arriving at the destination of the day an easy task to acheive.Therefore, GPS navigation was of great help to us in the race and we are sure to use it next year as well”,– says Dr.László Tanka, Secretary of the Board of Organisers.

Besides receiving a bonus, ultra marathonists finishing in the lead were each awarded a BluePanther device set up with the iGO My way European navigation software.First place winner of the Women’s Race Maria Bak and Polish runner Jaroszlav Janicki, winner of the Men’s Race, were both happy to receive the navigational device at the award presentation ceremony, held on 23 October. The best competitors above 50 years of age were also awarded the device. Among them was Pál Bozó, 69, who, this time included, has run the supermarathon for over fifteen times, and thus became doyen of the race.