Prague Half Marathon 2009

Well, yeah, one more half-marathon was completed by me, and I had 2 more fingernails dropped from my feet. Although my target was to finish it in less than 2 hours, I could only finish it in 2:06:00, and the improvement from last year was only 00:1:48. I had smooth run till 17th km, and after that my condition dropped fast. The rest of the run was mental fight. I missed 2 weeks of training in February due to sickness and Venice trip, so the affect was obvious. Not satisfied with the result, but satisfied with having completed another long run. No major injuries, so I can continue to do sports soon again. This time I ran in team category, our team EXATEC (university in Mexico) included myself, Cesar(Mexico), Blanca(Spain) and Gabriela (Slovakia). Each of us completed all 21+ km and deserves both thumbs up!

Below are my results:

Split	Time	min/Km	Delta	min/Km	RealTime
5 Km	0.28.21	5,40	0.28.21	5,40	0.27.52
10 Km	0.57.13	5,43	0.28.52	5,46	0.56.44
15 Km	1.25.30	5,42	0.28.17	5,39	1.25.01
Finish	2.06.00	5,58	0.40.30	6,38	2.05.31

And here's some unofficial photos;

EXATEC team before the race - Cesar, Gabriela, Blanca, Aibek

After the finish line - Efrain, Gabriela, Aibek, Cesar

"After race" at Mexican pub "La Casa Blu"

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Prague Half-Marathon (21+ km)

Great relief and satisfaction! Swollen foot fingers, sprained knee, lost few kilograms. This is the result of my first ever Half-Marathon run (21+ km). I made this distance in 2 hours 07 minutes, it's not the best result I could pull out, but I already felt my knee hurting on the 3. kilometer. (after spraining it 3 days ago in my last training while running for 12 km at -1 degree at night. I had my shorts on, and my legs got frozen. I guess my leg muscles couldn't warm up well in that cold and sprained from the long run) Anyway, all in all, it was great experience! I'm planning to do few more half-marathons before going for the full one. Believe me, you gotta take it seriously and train properly if you wanna make it while enjoy it.

Another Kyrgyz friend, Talant, joined me for this run and we were proud to represent Kyrgyzstan, the honor was ours. And only Kyrgyzstan represented Central Asia! Besides Talant some other friends from work (Alex, Jacobo, Frederic-my boss) and AIESEC community (Gabriele, Efrain, Stas) ran in this event, thus congratulations goes to all! Well done, lads!

Pictures were taken during the race by some friends who were there along the running track and those who came to cheer for us! Special thanks goes to them, and to other friends who called me before the race and showed me their support. I feel loved ;).

Our photo from the official web-page www.pim.cz! We, Kyrgyz, rule! ;)



Official video from PIM.CZ on Youtube;

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Run for Fun - Prague Marathon '08

Prague International Marathon always attracts thousands of runners from local population and foreign visitors. Besides the professional marathoners, thousands of locals and tourists join this festival for physical and mental challenge. What makes it even more attractive is that marathon route goes through many popular spots like Charles Bridge, Old Town, riverside and thousands of people will be cheering you along the road. It's like becoming a sports star for that day.

Last year, I ran at 8-km Caddy City Run with some friends. Besides main full and half-marathon runs, Prague Marathon has smaller runs like 8-km City Run or 4-km family run or 10-km Rollerskate Race. This year I am up for a challenge for Half-Marathon (21.097494 km) that will happen at 29-March this year. We already have small group, and I am also trying to get more people for this challenge. It's easier and more fun to have collective run.

Here's the route for this year's Half-Marathon (www.pim.cz);

What do you need to run in a marathon?

+ Long-distance runs require proper preparation and you should start training 2-3 months before the run. You should build up miles gradually. In Prague there are several parks where you can run and I found out about Havlickovy Sady in my neighbourhood. Correct nutrition intakes highly affects your training benefits as well. Besides cardiovascular exercises, you should boost your fitness with some weight-lifting exercises as well. And never forget to stretch!

+ Proper running shoes! It's obvious yet sometimes people ignore it. Last year I ran with Converse style athletic shoes and regretted it on every step I made during the run. Also, do not buy new running shoes just before the race, but run in the ones that you were training with. Same is recommended for other running wear.

+ Do not forget to register, and get your marathon set that includes;
- start number with electronic chip
- official Adidas T-shirt
- start bag
- etc. (see full list of things you get by registration here)

+ eHow.com has useful articles on Running. Realbuzz.com provides some podcasts about running and trainings. Also, another useful article about Half-Marathon preparation for Novices is here.

Here's the documentary about Hervis Prague Half Marathon '07;



and another documentary about Volkswagen Prague Marathon '07;



It's be interesting to hear other's opinions and recommendations about marathon and related. Those in Prague are welcome to join!

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Prague Marathon 2007

It never crossed my mind that I'd be running in a marathon crowd with a number sticked on my chest. But I did run. I knew few friends doing it on regular occasion, so that could probably have inspired me. Though it was an 8-km run, not the real half(~21 km) or full marathon (~42km). Also, some of our football teammates decided to complete it as fitness preparation for the upcoming tournament, but I ended up running with Grace, chinese trainee here, the guys were long gone with the crowd when we reached The Start at Vaclavske Namesti (Wencesclas Square). We gave late start, I had to leave Grace behind after Charles Bridge as I wanted to catch up with the guys (we had internal deal, the last person would buy bear for everyone :)). Cool thing was the marathon atmosphere, people cheering and supporting you along the way with applauds and smiles, what else the runner needs?! It is one of the international marathons organized every year. It makes me think of running a half-marathon next year, but it will require good preparation. I felt my legs screaming on the 2. kilometer already, then I just kept swinging front my legs to keep with the inertia of my body. That's why marathon runners think about smth else when they run, I think iPod shuffle with wrist band could have been very useful.

Well, I didn't check the time, but roughly speaking I made it in smth like 40-45 minutes.

After the run, there was music show at the Finish place - Staromestka(Old Town Square). Live performances, some African and Brazilian dances, etc.

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