Expected Record in Prague Half

[Newsroom]

Course Record Expected At Saturday´s Hervis Prague Half Marathon. A small army of global running stars - led by Kenya´s Jackson Kiprono Kirwa, Wilson Onsare, and Caroline Kwambai - is set to lay siege to the course record of the Hervis Prague Half Marathon on Saturday.

The race, which starts at the Rudolfinum at noon on March 29, marks the 10th anniversary of the Hervis Prague Half Marathon, which this year is also the proud recipient of the prestigious Silver Road Race Label awarded by the sport´s world governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

That all adds up to extra motivation for the 20 elite male and female runners from around the world who will take part in the jubilee running of the Hervis Prague Half Marathon. “Several of them will have the ambition and a chance to break the course record,” says Carlo Capalbo, president of the Prague International Marathon organizing committee: “The desire to become the jubilee winner will drive them on that´s a very strong motivation for the ultimate performance.”

Last year, Kenya´s Patrick Ivuti set the course record of 1h01´00”. He went on to use his amazing performance in Prague to prepare for the Chicago Marathon, which he won in October. Eleven of Ivuti´s compatriots will run on Saturday, including Kirwa, whose personal best time of 1h00´52” is the fastest half-marathon finish of any of this year´s runners.

Kenya´s Caroline Kwambai is also back in Prague this year to defend - or better
- the women´s course record of 1h10´08”, which she set in 2006. But Ethiopia´s Asha Roba Gigi, among several other female stars, will be nipping right at her heels. Unfortunately, injury has ruled out top Czech female runners Jana Blaha and Petra Kaminkova as well as the local men´s star, Pavel Faschingbauer.

Adding to the likelihood of a new record is the weather. Race-time temperatures are currently forecast to be around 10° Celsius. Cloudy skies - but not rain - are expected. The likely average wind speed of 5-9 m/s is also good news for the runners as well as for the thousands of spectators expected to turn out.