The 26th Volkswagen Prague Marathon moved from its traditional spring date to October 10.
Throughout the pandemic, and against all odds, RunCzech has found dozens of creative ways to stage safe, small running events, along with other ways of keeping the running community engaged in their beloved sport.
That has required near-constant meetings among RunCzech team members and authorities in local and national government. But finding an opportunity to stage its signature event—the internationally acclaimed Volkswagen Prague Marathon—has eluded them. Until now.
Health and public officials now feel more confident that moving the race to the fall will make it possible for RunCzech to safely host a large-scale event, and accommodate the thousands of fans and volunteers who come out to support the participants. And RunCzech has set a date—October 10, 2021.
According to Tomas Coufal from the RunCzech team, the capacity of the event will be determined in conjunction with health and government officials. „Our priority is definitely runners‘ safety and health,“ Mr. Coufal adds. „So runners who have already registered in 2020 will have the option of transferring their registration to 2022. He also pledges to keep runners informed about all vital health updates.
In the meantime, RunCzech is also staging a bonus event: the Volkswagen Prague Virtual Marathon. The event will start on May 3, and finish on May 31. Capacity is only 10,000 participants with priority registrations available few days earlier for those already holding entries to the Volkswagen Prague Marathon 2020.
According to Carlo Capalbo, president of the RunCzech Organizing Committee, “We must never stop dreaming and believing. There is light at the end of this tunnel. We’ll be there to cheer you on every step of the way. And we look forward to greeting you at the finish line with shouts of joy. Until then you keep running and we’ll keep thinking.”
