2. 6. 2023
Literally, European running stars will shine at the Mattoni 1/2 Marathon in České Budějovice. The Dutchman Khalid Choukoud, who is a marathon specialist and also participated in the Olympic Games, is due to arrive, as is his opponent from Poland, Arkadiusz Gardzielewski. Jiří Homoláč from the RunCzech Racing team will also be at the start. Among the women, Bulgarian Militsa Mircheva, the three-time national record holder, will be the favorite. The race will start on Saturday at 19:00 from Přemysl Otakar II Square. The event continues the EuroHeroes project, which focuses on supporting European athletes and their competitiveness among the world’s elite.
Last year’s race was complicated due to heavy rain that started just before the start. Different weather is expected this year, the temperatures will be almost ideal. “We expect perhaps one of the fastest vintages. We have some quality athletes here who can perform very well,” stated Carlo Capalbo, president of the RunCzech organizing committee.
The personal record on the half-marathon course is 1:01:53 for the Dutchman Choukoud. At the 2012 European Track Championships, he finished seventh in the 10 kilometer race. At the same time, he also specializes in marathons – on April 11, 2021, he ran his current personal best with a time of 2:09:55 in Siena, Italy. This qualified him for the Olympics. Pole Gardzielewski also has experience with them, whose half-marathon record is 1:03:17. At the same time, he is a multiple domestic champion. Maxim Raileanu is the Moldovan champion.
The women in České Budějovice should be ruled by Militsa Mircheva, who won 15th place at the 2022 Marathon World Championships in Oregon. Polish Monika Jackiewicz also wants to be at the front. The EuroHeroes project took care of a strong representation of leading European runners. The specialty of the 11th year of the České Budějovice half-marathon is the fact that the titular partner Mattoni celebrates 150 years since its foundation this year. It is still possible to register for the race at www.runczech.com. When registering, it is also possible to support a charity project that is connected with the Mattoni 1/2 Marathon of České Budějovice. This is Centrum Bazalka, a non-profit organization that helps families with the care of children with severe disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. Running With Those That Can’t (RWTTC), a charitable civic association whose goal is to raise awareness of people with special and complex needs, and which regularly participate in RunCzech races with children in wheelchairs, will also take part in the run.
