Course Record Expected At Saturday´s Hervis Prague Half Marathon – Kenya´s Caroline Kwambai is also back in Prague this year to defend

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.

Spectators who can´t watch along the course can tune in to live coverage by Czech Television´s CT4 or on the Internet at www.ct24.cz/vysilani.

The online broadcast can also be accessed at www.praguemarathon.com.

Tereza Synáčová
Prague International Marathon s.r.o.
Zahoranskeho 3, 120 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic
e-mail: synacova@pim.cz
www.praguemarathon.com

Men

BIB NAT NAME SURNAME BIRTH PB1/2marathon

1 KEN Jackson Kiprono KIRWA 86 1h00´52’’
2 KEN Wilson ONSARE 81 1h00´52’’
3 KEN Eliah Muturi KARANJA 81 1h00´57’’
4 KEN Wilberforce Talel KAPKENY 80 1h01´17’’
5 KEN Eliah MBOGO 88 1h02´10’’
6 KEN Paul BIWOTT 78 1h02´08’’
7 KEN Henry Cheruiyot KOSGEI 83 1h02´46’’
9 GER Daniel PICKL 77 1h03´00’’
12 BUL Ivan ČOTOV 66 1h06´10’’
13 CZE David GERYCH 77 1h07´10’’
14 KEN Julius MURIUKI 85 debut
15 KEN Raymond KANDI 86 debut
17 KEN Gordan Mugi MAHUGU 81 debut
18 SWE Henry GROSS 85 debut
19 SWE Oskar KÄCK 85 debut
20 KEN Mark Kipsang TANUI 77 pacemaker-men
21 CZE Pavel NOVÁK 70 pacemaker-women

Women

F1 KEN Caroline Chepkorir KWAMBAI 75 1h09´47’’
F2 ETH Asha Roba GIGI 73 1h09´53’’
F4 NED Kristijna LOONEN 70 1h12´50’’
F5 RUS Yelena SOKOLOVA 79 1h15´08’’
F6 GRE Magdalini GAZEA 77 1h15´17’’
F9 CZE Jana KLIMEŠOVÁ 70 1h13´52’’