Race Date: Saturday 5^th April 2025

Sarah Allcard reports.

The RunCzech, All Runners Are Beautiful, Prague Half Marathon is one of the six ‘super halves’ and are hard to get into so once a place is confirmed the button is pressed. Having never travelled overseas for a race before this was going to be an experience but Prague is such a beautiful, historic city and the race itself will run through its wealth of history and modern art.

Saturday is race day so it’s a visit to the expo on Friday afternoon on the far side of the Vlatava River, fifty minutes walk from the hotel. (Unknowingly a journey that we were to repeat on race day.) Knowing far too well how too much time spent on the feet can affect performance my daughter’s mission to get all of her Instagram snaps of the local scenery seemed to take priority. Race day was already doomed.

Race Day. With a cancelled Uber and then Bolt yesterday’s rehearsal of the walk to the start, this time executed in twenty five minutes, came in handy but didn’t help. I was already stressed.  No time to warm up so a few strides and laps around a small pen. What will be will be. Pens were labelled A-J and I was in pen C but as the race started it was clear that no-one had given an accurate predicted time when entering or just didn’t know their alphabet. Taking three minutes to cross the start line was not a good omen and for anyone wanting to do this race with serious intent the advice is to get as close to the front as possible. First mile was in 9:19 with the next few miles spent winding through the joggers. “Use the elbows” was the thought. As current running confidence isn’t great the target had already become to simply try and maintain some momentum.

The weather felt warm and the course itself undulating with, according to Strava, 315ft of climb. There were cobbles and tramlines to negotiate whilst the underpass provoked a flashback to the London marathon last year. This, together with the twisting course and tall buildings also caused some GPS error. The grandiose finish was on a lumpy red carpet. For the tourists the race itself included such sights as the Jirasek Bridge, Narodni Street, Powder Tower, Old Town Square and Parizska Street. The city itself was awash with stag and hen parties so, if visiting, perhaps stay over for the rest of the week when they may have gone home. I am told that Czech beer is worth the journey but, based on this experience, this may be the first and only ‘Super Half’ that I do.