The Prague Marathon

The Prague Marathon is one of Europe's most scenic

There aren't many better cities to host a marathon than beautiful Prague in Czechia. It's often the case that a marathon hosted in a major city will start downtown, drift out into surrounding areas and finish away from the action, but that's not the case here. You really do experience the best the city can offer and see its landmarks at very close quarters.

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Prague

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic, now known as Czechia. It has a population of 1.3 million people and boasts an incredible historical past, evidenced everywhere that you walk in its historic centre. It's been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1992 and with its 866 hectares is the largest historic city centre on this list in the world, and it's no wonder.

Prague Castle is a great starting point as you explore the city. Built in the 9th century it's the official office of the President of the Czech Republic and has been a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The views are incredible and you can immediately get oriented. Check out St Vitus cathedral, the Royal Palace and the beautiful Golden Lane.

The Royal Way leads you to the city, directly to the Charles Bridge, built in the 14th century; during the daytime full of vivid entertainment of street artists and very romantic and quiet at night. One of Prague's iconic landmarks, the sandstone Bridge crosses the Vltava river connecting the Old Town with the area around the castle and the village. Construction started in 1357 and completed in the early 1400's. From here you can continue to the stunning Old Town Square and marvel at the Astronomical Clock. It is well over 600 years old and is one of the oldest functional astronomical clocks in the world. Also known as The Orloj, it shows the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, Earth, and Zodiac constellations and tells the time, provides the date, and, best of all, provides entertainment for those watching on the hour, every hour. Not far from here is a former Jewish quarter with its synagogues, the Golem Story and the mysterious old cemetery or the art-nouveau-style Municipal House and the modern-centre Wenceslas square.

The history of the Prague Marathon

In November 1994, Carlo Capalbo was sitting in a small bar with his friend and fellow Italian Gelindo Bordin, winner of the marathon at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. After they drew a draft of a potential course for a Prague Marathon on a napkin they decided to call the famous Czech runner Emil Zátopek to ask for his support. He did support it and the following year the first race went ahead with 985 runners. This was only a small part of the total weekend field however, with nearly 15,000 taking part altogether, with 9.2km and 4.8km distances also available. The following year another event was added, an elite 10km.

In 1996 the event moved to May and numbers grew dramatically. There were 18,000 runners across all distances, including a new children's run.

It's now a firm fixture as one of the leading marathons in the world and is a World Athletics Elite Label race.

Race organiser

RunCzech, an organisation based in Prague that also organises the Prague Half and many other events throughout Czechia. They also organise two events in Italy.

Entertainment at the start in Old Town Square

When is the Prague Marathon

The race is held annually in May

Distances

Marathon only

Is there an expo?

There is a three day expo, from Thursday to Saturday and you'll need to pick up your bib from here. Apart from all the usual vendors there is a good accompanying programme of speakers in the hall next door that are worth listening to.

How many runners?

10,000

The course

The Start and Finish of the Marathon are in the city's historic Old Town Square and there aren't many better places to start a race than that and what a great place to come back to.

The start time is 9am and it's a series of wave starts. Even though it's a relatively small city event it still has a really big event feel. Everything is really slick. Baggage drop is easy and it's all well signed.

The course is predominantly flat, and the majority of it is along the Vltava River, giving runners a scenic tour of pretty much everything you'd want to see in the city. The first 4km is a loop west of the start across the river and back before heading east on the north side of the river for a 7km loop. The course is made up of a number of loops and although there is some repetition there aren't many cities you'd want to see on repeat. This is definitely one of them. From 12km it's directly south for the biggest loop before turning at 22km and heading back into the city. The route then crosses the river and heads south on the west side. The final section is a repeat of the 5km to 12km loop, with the last couple of kilometres being the triumphant return to the Old Town Square. It's a fantastic finish party. Yes, it's busy but what a great atmosphere.

Nearly two thirds of the race takes place on cobbled streets or beside tram tracks so your legs get a really good workout and if you like bridges you're in luck. There are ten river crossings. Three Bridges were crossed twice, LibeHskýt, Mánesov, Palackého and four of them are crossed once, the most famous and iconic being Charles Bridge, with that unforgettable view of Prague Castle.

Crossing the world famous Charles Bridge

Distance markers were regularly placed & refreshments were ample with oranges, bananas & sponges. Some stations had salt & sugar cubes. Portable toilets, first aid stations & Birell music tents appeared every 5km. Spectator support was friendly & mostly on the side of the Old Town Square, less on the opposite side of the Vltava, but volunteers were helpful & enthusiastic.

What's unique?

Prague is a wonderful city and to be able to run on its cobbled streets traffic free and with hundreds of cheering volunteers supporting your every move makes this a special and unique experience.

Do charities benefit?

There is a local charity programme that supports 15 Czech charities. It's in its early stages and the amount raised is still relatively small, but it is growing.

Our verdict

This is a superb event. The course takes you past the best of Prague and the organisation is of the highest standard. The support from the volunteers and the extensive crowds is high quality. There aren't many better destinations for a marathon than Prague either.

How to register

Online via the website. The event may well sell out a few weeks before race day so enter as soon as you can.

Race website

https://www.runczech.com/en

All the RunCzech events are listed on this site.