Prague Half Marathon 2024

The 4th of April has passed, and I’ve checked another SuperHalfs race off my list! Yes, this time, it was the Prague Half Marathon, my 4th SuperHalfs race.

I was expecting this event to be one of the best experiences, with almost all the ingredients for it: a superb city, good organization, and expected cloudy weather. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans for Saturday. While I feared I might need to bring a rain jacket, the sun decided to shine brightly from start to finish.

But let’s start with the pre-race days.

The Kit

The kit wasn’t extensive. I received the complete package, meaning the Bib, the T-shirt, and the medal engraving (which I skipped in the end because the line was huge). No cap! Lisbon leads 1–0.

Also, the event brochure was digital. I didn’t have too many things to carry from the Run Expo. I picked up the Bib on Thursday evening, and it wasn’t crowded at all. I’m not sure how it was in the subsequent days.

Please meet Lucka. I wish I could have matched his stride.

One interesting thing is that, for the Prague half marathon 57% of the participants were foreign runners. Never been to such an international race before.

When I arrived at the hotel to leave the kit in my room, I also found the GPX file of the race online and uploaded it to my Garmin as an event. Immediately after, I checked my Garmin’s race prediction. Surprisingly, Garmin adjusted its prediction from 1:46h to 1:50h!

I blamed it on the elevation and the number of turns and thought I could do better than my previous race in Lisbon (1:46:46). The official ascent was 65, and the descent was 67. This shouldn’t pose a problem.

Race Day

I started in the D sector and managed to get there on time. The journey to the starting line began at the Metro station, where a vast crowd struggled with the only two automatic stairways to exit the Metro and walk to the starting area.

Below, you can see how many people were “trapped” inside the metro station.

At the starting area, the wardrobe was a pleasant surprise and excellently organized. I left my belongings in less than 5 minutes. Multiple points were organized for each of the last two digits of the Bib number, making access to the wardrobe quite fast.

I had little time to warm up, but there were many places available. The issue was time; I had expected to move faster and have more time for warming up. This was on me.

When the race began, so did the sun’s rise, which was not a good sign. I began to realize that Garmin’s prediction for a slower finish time was likely due to the weather, not the course.

I don’t understand why all European races start at 10 am. It’s too late and very challenging for the runners. I long for races that start at 8:30. A change is needed. I recall the Göteborgsvarvet being even more extreme, starting at 1 pm! That is a race to remember for many years.

Kilometer by kilometer, I felt the heat intensify. It was the first race this year where I had to drink a glass of water and pour one over my head at each hydration point. Although prepared with a cap, the heat was too much.

I managed to follow the 1:45 pacers, but after stopping at the 7+ km hydration point, I realized it wasn’t my day. I began to decrease my pace to feel more comfortable despite the heat.

I finished in1:50:21, and considering the heat, this was a good result.

After the race, I read on a Czech news site that the heat affected many runners. If the reports are accurate, then 102 people collapsed during the race, and 36 were taken to the hospital. The “red” plan was activated for two hours due to the numerous collapses.

My focus remained on the 18th km mark, where a tunnel promised at least 100m of cooler conditions. Unfortunately, the tunnel was warm during the event.

Top 4 Things I Learned the Hard Way About Running in Hot Weather:

1. Wear a cap.
2. Run in a T-shirt with no sleeves.
3. Stop at every hydration point and drink at least 100–150 ml of water.
4. Slow the pace slightly.

I ignored all these tips in one of my races in Malaga. It was scorching, and I nearly collapsed 800m before the finish. That day was a hard lesson, but it helped me avoid issues in many subsequent races.

What About the Heat?

While the heat was intense, it didn’t feel like 30 degrees Celsius, yet it had a significant impact.

Compared to the Lisbon race two weeks prior, this race felt difficult from the start. In Lisbon, the heat became noticeable around the 11 km mark.

Surprisingly, the average temperature was the same, but as I mentioned, it felt hotter in Lisbon starting at km 11th.

Running forums suggest that humidity is the key differentiator for heat perception. I expected higher humidity in Lisbon than in Prague.

Let’s see how the Cardiff Half Marathon compared in terms of temperature. I remember that race as the coldest SuperHalfs so far. It was cloudy from start to finish.

Not a significant difference! I’ll gather more data and write a new post about heat and temperature. I want to understand what happened more.

The Town

Prague is a superb city worth visiting. There are plenty of things to do, and you can easily spend four days just exploring the city.

I was surprised to see how little damage the communist regime had inflicted on the city compared to other former communist countries in Europe.

If you enjoy traveling and running, I highly recommend the Prague Half Marathon.

If you are doing the Superhalfs series please check also my following reviews:

EDP Lisbon Half Marathon — 2024

Valencia Half Marathon — 2024