A huge crowd will hit the streets of Prague this Saturday. The Prague Half Marathon is back after a year, and in full power! It will feature thousands of runners, including pro athletes. Kenya’s Benard Kimeli will be aiming for his third triumph in this race, while his compatriots and the local Jiri Homoláč are also looking to be at the front. One of the biggest stars on the women’s start list is Irine Jepchumba Kimais, who managed to win this year’s half marathon in Barcelona with a time of 1:04:37. The race will start from Jan Palach Square on Saturday at 10:00 and it will be televised and streamed live.
Kimeli attacked his third triumph at the Prague Half Marathon last year already, however, finished third. He will be the major favorite again in this year’s race, as Prague is his favorite place. His training takes place mostly in Japan, where he spends more than six months of the year as a professional athlete of Fujitsu Corporation. Kimeli is also a member of the RunCzech Racing team.
His best time in 2019 was 59:07 in Prague, the men’s course record is still 58:47 minutes. Roncer Kipkorir Konga, who ran 59:38 in Paris, also wants to reach high, as does another Kenyan, Geoffrey Kimutai Koech, who was two seconds faster in Houston in 2020. There are also pro-athletes such as Paulos Surafel from the UK or the locals Jiri Homoláč and Patrik Vebr, the new members of the RunCzech Racing team.
Among women there are very interesting names as well. In particular, the Kenyan Irine Jepchumba Kimais is in great form – this year she already won in Barcelona, with an impressive time of less than an hour and five minutes. Last year, she finished third in the Berlin Half Marathon or won in Arid, Saudi Arabia. Kenya’s Nesphine Jepleting, who reached the time of 1:06:57 here last year, will defend her victory.
Spectators will be on the course to also watch and support Moria Stewart, the Czech national record holder for the half marathon (1:10:14) and 10km. At the Prague Half Marathon, she will be aiming to break her own Czech record, paced by another local endurance ace, Vítek Pavlišta. Tereza Hrochová, the winner of the České Budějovice Half Marathon 2022 as part of the RunCzech Running League and the 2019 World Hill Running Vice-Champion, will also fight for a place on the podium.
