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If you live in or around London and can’t get up early enough to do the 9am parkrun at Wormwood Scrubs on Saturday, September 16, have a lie-in and get there a bit later, say 10.30am, just in time to celebrate one of the greatest distance runners in history by competing in the Emil Zátopek Charity Run.
The Czech Centre in London in collaboration with Thames Valley Harriers, whose Linford Christie stadium is located in the lee of the infamous Scrubs’ prison is promoting their second annual edition of the event in support of The Zátopek Athletic Foundation for Young Athletes. There will be three events: a 2k for under-11 year olds at 11am, a 3k for U13 and U15 at 11.20am, and an open 5k at 12.00 noon.
You should not need reminding that Zátopek achieved one of the greatest feats in the annals of the Olympic Games; winning all three distance events – 5000/10,000 metres and marathon (at his first attempt) in Helsinki in 1952. That will certainly never be repeated, the more so since the marathon is now a speciality.
And having won the 10,000 metres at the previous Games up the road from the Scrubs at Wembley meant that Zata was a four-time Olympic gold medallist. He also won a silver in the ’48 5000 metres; and for good measure, his wife Dana won javelin gold in Helsinki, just half an hour after his 5000 victory. Some family, huh?
So, why don’t you emulate them at one remove, and take your own family to Wormwood Scrubs on Saturday, September 16?
There will be refreshments – food and Czech beer, the latter itself a good enough reason to turn up!
Have a good one!
Register online via Entry4Sports by 14 September 2023
QUICKSILVER – The Mercurial Emil Zátopek
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The Emil Zátopek Run
Sat 16 Sep 2023 11:00 Wormwood Scrubs / Linford Christie Athletic Stadium, White City, London W12
The Thames Valley Harriers (TVH) athletic club and the Czech Centre (CC) have the pleasure to invite you to the second London charity run, organised in the name of the brilliant Czech runner Emil Zátopek, to raise funds towards The Zátopek‘s Athletic Fellowship supporting young athletes in Western London.
BEST RUNNER OF ALL TIME RETURNS TO LONDON
- Register online via Entry4Sports by 14 September 2023
(please scroll down for the instructions on how to register) - Walk-In registrations on the day are also welcome (please register 1 hr before the start of your race)
Distance: 5k, 3k & 2k
Categories:
- U11 (2k) (start at 11:00)
- U13 and U15 (3k)
- U17 and the Main run (5k) (start at 12:00)
Entry fee: £10/£5 (under 17s)
(All entry fees and donations will contribute towards the Zátopek Athletics Fellowship)
Open to all | Families welcome
Food, BBQ, Czech beer and other refreshments after the run
‚When you can’t keep going, go faster!‘.
(Když nemůžeš, tak přidej!)
Emil Zátopek
The legendary Czech runner Emil Zátopek (1922-2000), nicknamed Czech locomotive, won his first Olympic medal in London in 1948. Best known for his distinctive running style and his many athletic achievements and records – up to this date Zátopek remains the only runner to win the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon at the same Olympic Games, which he obtained in Helsinki in 1952. Besides his athletic accomplishments, Zátopek received international acclaim for his vocal public condemnation of the 1968 Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia which led to his denouncement by the Czechoslovak communist government and a controlled detention.
There are many books and films about Zátopek’s life and sport achievements, including British author Richard Askwith’s biography Today We Die a Little: The Rise and Fall of Emil Zatopek, Olympic Legend.
In 2013 Runner’s World Magazine named Zátopek the ‚Greatest Runner of All Time‘.
Source: Czech Centre (CC) London
