Saturday’s Prague Half-Marathon features top-class fields in the Czech Republic
The Prague Half Marathon on Saturday (April 6) is set to feature 15,000 runners from 115 different nations on a fast course through one of Europe’s most picturesque cities.
The 24th edition of the race, which is part of the SuperHalfs series, will see the athletes chasing the course records of 58:47 held by Atsedu Tsegay of Ethiopia and 64:52 by Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya.
The entries are led by Sabastian Sawę, a Kenyan who has a best of 58:29 and is the reigning world half-marathon champion after victory in Riga last October. He is also fresh from seventh place at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, where he helped Kenya to team gold medals.
“Every year, star endurance athletes come to Prague, but this year, it is an absolute running extravaganza,” said Carlo Capalbo, president of the RunCzech organising committee. “We are very pleased and believe that Sawe’s performance will be one of the highlights of this year’s event.”
Sabastian Sawe (Mosna)
Other leading contenders include Geoffrey Toroitich and Patrick Mosin of Kenya, both of whom have run inside 60 minutes in the past. In addition, Haftamu Gebresilase of Ethiopia, Maxwell Rotich of Uganda and Gideon Rop of Kenya have run just outside 60 minutes in the last year. Moroccans Yakoub Labquira and Ahmed El Jaddar are also set to challenge, with Stephen Scullion, the Irish Olympian, also on the entries.
Further men in the line-up include Hélio Gomes of Portugal, Petter Johansen of Norway, Abdennasser Oukhelfen of Spain and Erik Hille of Germany plus, Patrik Vebr, Martin Zajíc and Jiří Homoláč of the Czech Republic.
Stephen Scullion (LME)
In the women’s race Nigsti Haftu Tesfay and Gete Alemayechu Teklemichael of Ethiopia have both run 66 minutes with Tesfay the quickest in the field with 66:17.
Jesca Chelangat and Vivian Jepkemei Melly of Kenya together with Anchinalu Dessie Genaneh of Ethiopia are 67-minute performers. Look out too for Sultan Haydar of Turkey, Jennifer Gulikers of the Netherlands and Tereza Hrochová of the Czech Republic.
Heather Seaward, a British athletes from Thames Valley, is also due to run after having clocked 2:32:34 in the Seville Marathon in February.
Further entrants include Martin Fiz, the 1995 world marathon champion from Spain, who is attempting to win all six SuperHalfs races in the M60 age group with the other events taking place in Berlin, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Cardiff and Valencia.
Lisa Migliorini, AKA “the fashion jogger” – a running influencer with 2.3 million followers on YouTube – is also in the field, plus Slovak runner Maroš Kudlík, known as “Marosh the Spartan”, who has beaten cancer three times and only has one leg.
The race starts 10am at the Bubenské Nábřeží and passes the Vltava river, with the views of Prague Castle and Charles Bridge in the background, taking them through the heart and soul of the city – Old Town Square, right by the Astronomical Clock.
Yet, the Prague Half Marathon’s charm extends beyond the social media world. It is an event which connects families, friends, and enthusiasts in Prague to experience not only the race, but also to participate in the vibrant Running EXPO – an immersive experience with cutting-edge gear, nutrition essentials and running innovations held in the Prague Exhibitions Ground.
In a reflection of the event’s growing global appeal, this year more than half of the participants are from overseas with Germany, Spain and Italy are leading the way.
The event also incorporates the Battle of the Teams which was introduced in 2021 by the organisers, RunCzech, featuring a balanced team battle of professional marathon runners, with equal and fair distribution of teams according to the personal records of individual runners, giving every team has the possibility to win.
The event is set to be streamed on YouTube and at Pulse.tv.
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