The peak of the cross-country season is approaching! The Prague Marathon will take place next weekend, in which more than 8,000 runners should participate. Half of them will be participants from abroad, specifically from 91 countries. According to the CzechTourism methodology, this important sporting event last year brought 190 million crowns to the Czech economy, this year the amount should exceed 200 million crowns. In addition, the traditional running holiday makes Prague more visible globally, footage from the Charles Bridge and other landmarks goes to 110 countries around the world. After a year, the start and finish returned to the Old Town Square. The Prague Marathon will start on Sunday 5/5 at 9:00 am.
RunCzech running races usually attract around 107,000 domestic and foreign tourists to Prague during April, May and September. This year’s season got off to a spectacular start in the form of the 1/2 Prague Marathon, which was attended by over 15,000 people. And interest in running sports events is also confirmed by the Prague Marathon. “Active sports people usually arrive in Prague for the marathon, who combine participation in the race with tourism and getting to know the local sights.” he declared Jiří Nečásekmarketing manager from the RunCzech organization.
The organizers strengthened the organizational measures of the entire event even more. At this year’s Prague Half Marathon, which was held in extremely high temperatures, dozens of people had problems with overheating. “We expect that there will be 16 refreshment stations at the Prague Marathon, 8 of them with ionic drinks. In total, we have prepared 30,000 liters of water and over 16,000 liters of isotonic drink. Along the course we will have 34 first aid medical patrols and four bike patrols with defibrillators. We will also rely on the Golem medical module, which will be not only at the finish line, but also on the track,” explained Jiří Nečásek.
27,000 bananas and 17,000 oranges will also be available for competitors. “We will also inform participants more about the risks of warm weather. The discussions surrounding the Prague Half Marathon also resulted in a request to increase the number of toilets before the start, and we also focused on that.” added Nečásek. Not only more refreshment will await the runners at this year’s Prague International Marathon – there will be a total of 23 musical groups along the route as part of the Marathon Music Festival, which is organized in cooperation with the United Islands of Prague festival.
In total, over 8,000 participants, half of them from abroad, should arrive at the start at the Old Town Square. France, Poland, Italy, Slovakia and Great Britain will have the largest representation among foreigners. Elite runners from China, India, Brazil, Ecuador or Peru will also fly in. Thanks to the traditional running race, the global visibility of Prague is enormous – the broadcast of the Prague International Marathon can be watched by over 700 million viewers during its broadcast. “The Prague International Marathon is an important race, people do not compete against each other, it is more about the essence of the joy of movement. I hear everywhere how well this event is organized and what quality it has“, the mayor declared Bohuslav Svoboda.
As part of the total economic impact in multiplied effects, the Prague races (1/2 Marathon Prague, Prague International Marathon, UniCredit Prague Relay and Birell Grand Prix Prague) brought 589 million crowns to the Czech economy. Organizers from RunCzech expect that the amount will increase thanks to this year’s increased interest. “For us, the Prague Marathon is a brand of the highest quality, it catapults us among the best organizers in the world. I’m glad that after the covid era, a lot of organized running is starting again. Basic physical activities are a natural part of a quality healthy life,” he declared Libor Organistchairman of the Czech Athletic Association.
Photo: RunCzech
Tags: thousand runners arrive Prague International Marathon attracted race local sights
-
