The popular Battle of the Teams will take place again this year. Its intention is to connect professional athletes with All Runners. There is nothing like this at any other race. Once again, six special teams, headed by a group of elite athletes, will be competing for the win and, more importantly, for funds for charities. “Every participant who runs the marathon with us has a unique chance to sign up for one of the teams. It’s a special and fun incentive that will give you a sense of belonging and teamwork,” said Carlo Capalbo, President of the RunCzech Organizing Committee. The organizers will unveil the teams and their captains in the upcoming days. The Prague International Marathon will take place on May 7. Registrations are available on RunCzech.com.
The principle behind Battle of the Teams is simple – four professional athletes in each team are awarded points for their performances. All other runners in the team are awarded points as well, and their average point score is added to the elite runners‘ total score. Extra points are added if a pro athlete runs a personal best. Best total score wins.
As an extra incentive to participants this year, All Runners—not just elite athletes— will be competing for a share of the prize money. That makes the connection between pro and amateur athletes even tighter. And it makes it more important to choose your team carefully.
For a non-professional runner to qualify for prize money, he or she must be part of the winning team, finish with a point total above the team average (which automatically adds 3% to runners‘ point totals) and have the highest point score of the team, according to an innovative RunCzech scoring system.
The winning team will receive 30,000 euros, divided equally among the six professional athletes (four primary runners plus two backup runners). And 15,000 euros will be divided between the remaining five teams.
