Highlights from the Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon

The České Budějovice half marathon is quite possibly the friendliest race in the entire world. The wonderful main square boasts a tradition for bringing people together. With its fairytale feel, you can’t help be bowled over by the crooked medieval streets. The cheering crowds will also ensure each and every runner feels like a true hero.

Key information:

• This year is the sixth event year
• The Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon will be broadcast live on ČT Sport and on ivysilani.cz. Broadcasting kicks off at 18.30
• The Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon is the fourth RunCzech Running League race, comprising a total of seven races in five cities around the Czech Republic. * Together with last year’s new feature, the O2 Prague 4×5 Relay, a whopping 82 840 runners took part in RunCzech races in 2016, almost eight thousand more than in 2015
• The race has been awarded the Gold Quality Label by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for the second year in a row
• The race kicks off at 18.30 from Přemysl Otakar II Square. The dm Family Run will set off from the same place at 17.00
• Race capacity has grown slightly from last year’s 3 400 to 3 500 competing racers. Five hundred additional runners will join the dm Family Run, the capacity for * which is 3 000 athletes
• The half marathon is completed on a single-circuit course, kicking off from the centre of České Budějovice. The course remains unchanged from last year
• The half marathon will be started by České Budějovice Mayor Jiří Svoboda, the dm Family Run by governor of the South Bohemian Region Ivo Moravec
• Last year was a great success when it came to results – with one race record delivered by Ethiopian Ashete Bere securing the best women’s time
• The fastest men’s time of the Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon went to Daniel Chebii back in 2012 when he managed to complete the course in under the magical * one hour limit (59:49 to be precise)
• International star and one of the most successful runners of all time Wilson Kipsang is also due to take part
• Aside from Kipsang, a number of other African runners are expected to launch an attack on the race record. Hot favourites include Kenyans Justut Kangogo, Abraham * Akopesha as well as Geoffrey Ronoh. Competing as a pacemaker, Ronoh triumphed at the Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon back in 2014 defeating Kipsang
• The women’s start line will be dominated by Kenyan racers, with Lucy Kabuu and Rebeca Chesir dubbed the hot favourites to win
• Japanese representatives and Brazilian racer Paulo Paula are sure to add an extra dimension to the race
• Local runner Jan Kreisinger is the favourite among the Czech guys, though rivals Petr Pechek, Robert Míč and another České Budějovice local David Vaš will all want * to give it their best shot
• The main star among the Czech women is local runner Ivana Sekyrová. Rivals Dagmar Rychnovská, Tereza Ďurdiaková and Radka Churáňová won’t want to make it easy for * her, however
• Other personalities to watch out for include Dalibor Gondík participating as a pacemaker in the & Johnson Women’s Challenge as well as singer from the band Skyline * and fitness trainer Jacob Bína. Former Czech National Bank governor Zdeněk Tůma is also up for a slice of the running action along with motorbike racers Jakub and * Matěj Smrž running for the Bazalka Centre
• Also forming part of the half marathon weekend are the dm Family Run as well as the Marathon Music Festival featuring bands and DJs along the course
• RunCzech collaborates with fifty charity organisations. Last year a total of 5 287 runners generated a sum of almost ten million Czech Crowns for the Run for a Good * Cause project. The Bazalka Centre is the main charity partner to the Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon
• Spectators can also look forward to seeing battles play out between football, ice hockey and floorball relays as part of the race. Radek Prokeš, Jakub Doktor, Jakub * Káník and Stanislav Dosek will be running on behalf of Motor and Petr Žáček, Michael Kudláček, Lukáš Froněk and Lukáš Malý will be representing Štíři
• The greatest number of foreign runners taking part hail from Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Great Britain, Spain and the United States
• The top level of medical care offered along the course will see some new features this year. Four mobile AED cycle patrols furnished with an automatic external * defibrillator linking up to medical professionals will move in among the runners. 15 AID Stations (labelled as such) will also be dotted around the course
• České Budějovice hosts two Mattoni FreeRuns – five kilometre circuits open to everyone whenever they feel the urge to get out for a run. The courses are located in * Stromovka and Nábřežní
• The official race hashtag is #CBHalf

Interesting statistics:

• Capacity for the Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon is 3 500 runners
• Capacity for the dm Family Run is 3 000 participants
• 250 four-member relays (3 × 5 km + 1 × 6,0975 km)
• 300 two-member 2Run relays (1 × 10 km + 1 × 11,0975 km)
• A total of 37 nationalities are expected to appear at the start line
• 69 % of runners are men, 31% women
• The average age of women taking part in the half marathon is 36.1 years, for men it’s 38.8 years
• On average women manage the Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon in 2:07:35, men in 1:50:39
• Three runners will be celebrating their birthdays on race day
• The most common names of male runners taking part are Jan, Petr and Martin. For women it’s Lenka, Jana and Martina
• The vast majority of long-distance runners are university educated (58 ), with school leavers making up 34 and the remaining 8% made up of those with only basic * level education
• On average a runner has to take 17 216 steps to complete the whole 21,0975 km
• The oldest male participant: Jaroslav Putschogl (CZE), 78 years
• The oldest female participant: Miromila Sobotová (CZE), 70 years
• 760 volunteers will be helping out on race day
• Almost twenty thousand people from all over the world will access www.runczech.com on race day (18 971 on 2016)
• Almost 100 000 users (97 312 in 2016) will receive messages on social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) from RunCzech channels on race day

Used during the race:

• 479 traffic signs
• 21 540 safety pins
• 42 356 cups
• 17 360 freshening up sponges
• 3 500 thermal insulation sheets
• 6 500 medals
• 3 591 m of fencing
• 92 portable toilets
• Drunk:
• 18 682 l of Mattoni water
• 5 942 litres of Gatorade (hypotonic drink)
• Eaten:
• 1 321 kg bananas
• 842 kg oranges
• 17 kg salt
• 22 kg sugar

Records:

• World record – men: 0:58:23 (2010) Zersenay Tadese (ERI), Lisbon
• World record– women: 1:04:52 (2017) Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN), Prague*
• Czech record – men: 1:01:31 (1997), Jan Pešava
• Czech record – women: 1:11:02 (1994), Alena Peterková
• Race record – men: 1:01:01 (2015),Elijah Serem (KEN)
• Race record – women: 1:09:07 (2016), Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN)
• Fastest Czech man: 1:06:51 (2016), Milan Kocourek
• Fastest Czech woman: 1:17:57 (2014), Ivana Sekyrová
• world record still awaiting validation

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