Have shoes, will run: Kenyan stars aim for world running records in Prague

The beauty and allure of Prague is orgasmic.

A serious traveller would certainly like to have the Czech capital on any bucket list.

From the 600-year-old astronomical clock, the world’s oldest working clock that was installed in 1410, to the Charles Bridge on Vltara River — whose construction started in 1357 — and the Strahov Monastery, established in 1143, Prague is simply irresistible.

A cruise on the Vltara River is a romantic proposition while for the musical and artistic — with a sprinkling of radicalism —  at heart, a visit to the Lennon Wall, where a collection of Beatles-themed graffiti symbolises freedom of speech, all add to Prague’s embarrassment of attractions.

Little wonder Daniel Craig was happy to make his James Bond debut by shooting several scenes of Casino Royale in Prague, most significantly at the National Museum of Prague, the Strahov Monastery and Prague Airport.

Nocturne concert

Tom Cruise also conjured up Mission: Impossible in Prague, taking advantage of the scenic Charles Bridge, Old Town Square and the National Museum.

And just last week, Czech opera singer Adam Plachetka performed a nocturne concert on the rooftop of Lucerna Palace, further highlighting the splendour of Prague.

Simply breathtaking!

At the risk of sounding like a contributor on Trip Advisor, Prague remains one of the most beautiful cities one could ever visit.

But the Czech capital will enjoy the spotlight for reasons other than medieval history and the arts today when a group of about 30 half marathoners race in Prague’s Letná Park, chasing various distance running records.

Event and athlete management company, RunCzech, have teamed up with Adidas to inspire whatever is left of a coronavirus-ravaged season with attempts at lowering distance running records up to the half marathon (21 kilometres) distance.

Three dozen runners

The three dozen runners, including their pacemakers (there are about 12 men and nine women runners going for broke) will compete on an “Oval” course in the park to chase extremely fast times, organisers explain.

“In 16 and a half laps, the men will try to break 58:30 (58 minutes and 30 seconds), the women will aim for 1:05:30 (one hour, five minutes and 30 seconds) — if they succeed, the rankings will be shaken up,” RunCzech explained Friday.

“However, world times in this case are a bit secondary: it is already a miracle that the world’s top half marathon runners will compete in Prague this weekend.”

Playing down any chance of the field beating the world half marathon record of 58:01 set by Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor last year, RunCzech head Carlo Capalbo says it’s already a miracle that there’s any running going on at all.

“Although at the beginning of the summer it may have seemed that Prague would not be able to host running races for this year, the opposite has happened,” he said.

“The organisers from the RunCzech team found a unique chance and in a surprisingly short time prepared the project Prague 21.1 km — Ready for the Restart.

“I don’t know which of you believe in miracles, but the fact that we can be here at all is one of them,” said Capalbo, president of the RunCzech Organising Committee whose team put together the spectacle in less than a month.

Chelimo out

Some of the athletes invited picked up late injuries, including Kenya’s Joan Chelimo and Ethiopia’s Netsanet Gudeta Kebede, who holds the world women’s only half marathon record (66:11), while others failed to make the trip to Prague for various other reasons.

But the organisers have nonetheless managed to assemble a stellar cast on a stage that on Thursday also saw Adidas launch its latest running shoe which they believe “will break world records.”

At a ceremony attended by Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, the German sportswear company released its Adidas “Adizero Adios Pro” with a photo shoot featuring top Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes lined up in today’s unique event dubbed ‘Prague Restart.’

Long journey

Adidas say the journey to developing the shoe started in Berlin on September 28, 2008, when Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie broke his own world record and became the first man to dip under the two hours, four minutes’ barrier over the 42-kilometre distance.

Elite Kenyan athletes — including Joyciline Jepkosgei and Rhonex Kipruto — gave interactive feedback “to develop prototypes and challenge everything previously understood about bending stiffness, energy return, mass reduction and design geometry.”

Other athletes involved in Adidas’ research and development were half marathoners Stephen Kiprop and Philemon Kipruto, marathon stars Amos Kipruto, Abel Kipchumba, Bethwell Yegon, Albert Korir and Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia), two-time Eindhoven Marathon champion Festus Talam and two-time Prague Half Marathon champion, Bernard Kimeli.

“I’m very happy to be guest of ‘Prague Restart.’ Prague is where I started my career and it is always good to be back,” Rhonex Kipruto said on Thursday.

“After the race, the plan is to visit Adidas HQ in Herzogenaurach and to continue to work on various new shoe models and technologies.  Before that, I will be supporting my friends here and especially my brother Bravin, who will be pacing the race.”

Saturday’s race kicks off at the Letná Park at 6:20 in the morning (7:20am Kenyan time) with the men’s race while the women will start their run at 8:00am (9:00am Kenyan time).

“However, both starts can be easily shifted depending on ideal climatic conditions,” Capalbo said yesterday. “There are three reasons for the early start: after six in the morning, the wind blows the least in the Letná area and the temperature should be at the ideal level of 13 degrees.

“Also, because of the coronavirus situation, most probably a larger number of people will not gather around the course.

“Unfortunately, at this time we can’t invite anyone directly to the “Oval”, but thanks to the live broadcast, no one will be deprived of a unique experience.”

Jepchirchir in action

Kenya’s former half marathon world champion Peres Jepchirchir is among three women in the field who have run 1:06.

“We can run very fast. The route is good, we have already trained on it and I trust myself a lot,” Jepchirchir said yesterday.  The Kenyan runners have nicknamed the new Adidas shoe “Majambo.”

“The first tests took place last February. We’ve made a lot of changes and improvements since then and now I believe it’s the best shoe to achieve really great results,” Abel Kipchumba said.

Besides the half marathons, there will be a 10-kilometre race later today and a five-kilometre family run. Today’s race will be broadcast live online in the www.runczech.com website.

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