Volkswagen Prague Virtual Marathon motivates runners like never before

Prague 3rd May 2021

This past year has been rough for everyone who’s longed for the competition and the camaraderie of participating in live road running events. In an attempt to satisfy demand, many organizations including RunCzech have been staging virtual races until it’s safe to host our traditional big celebratory runs. (Which we plan to resuming this Fall!)

In the meantime, RunCzech has come up with several ways of making virtual races even more exciting and more enticing. “For one thing,” says RunCzech’s Michaela Šimeček, “we’re allowing runners to pick from a variety of different distances—marathon, half marathon, 10 km or a 4.2 km family MiniMarathon. And, in a twist on virtual marathons of the past, the RunCzech allows you to complete your distances over the course of several days.”

Giving runners that option means you can take on a race that might otherwise be a little too challenging for you, and still add a marathon or half marathon to your running accomplishments.

RunCzech is also adding a significant charitable component to its virtual events. According to Carlo Capalbo, president of the RunCzech Organizing Committee, “We have invented a new twist on the ancient sport of marathoning with our “Battle of the Teams” program. Elite marathoners competing in teams of 8 runners each. As a component of that event, each team will designate a charity to support. And 10% of all virtual marathon registration fees will go to support them.”

In trying to evoke the live race-day experience, RunCzech has created a new web platform providing a complete digital running experience. Runners will register on line. Then pass through a virtual festival zone and runner’s expo. They’ll get their traditional “goodie bag” with their personalized start number, nutrition and training tips, access to Spotify playlists and podcasts (all share-able and download-able) and more.

Upon completing the race, diplomas, medals will be mailed to all participants, along with other prizes and sample gifts from our partners.

Runners are apparently embracing the concept. 10,000 registrations have been made available overall. And 3,000 have already registered. Priority is being given to those who had registered for the 2020 Volkswagen Prague Marathon, which had been cancelled due to the pandemic.

The event takes place from May 3 to May 31. Runners can learn more about how to participate and how to register at https://www.praguevirtual.com/en/

Fact sheet

Official Name of the event: Volkswagen Prague Virtual Marathon.

Races available to virtual runners: Volkswagen Full Marathon / Volkswagen 2Run / 10 km / dm Family MiniMarathon 4.2 km.

Maximum number of registrations available: 10 000. Priority will be given to runners holding an entry to our Volkswagen Prague Marathon 2020.

Event dates: May 3 to May 31. Runners can complete their races in a single day or over the course of several days.

The courses: Participants may run on any course they choose.

Where to register: https://www.praguevirtual.com/en/

Screenshots from running apps and Smart Watches can be submitted to RunCzech as proof that runners have completed their races.

Supporting charities: 10% of the entry fee will be automatically donated to one of our four official charities, named by the four elite teams competing in “Battle of the Teams.”

Runners can specify the charity they wish to support.

Corporate partners of each team have pledged to double the amount donated by the runners.

Michaela Šimeček

RunCzech organizes running events in cities across the Czech Republic and in Italy, with Napoli Running, and in Japan and China supported by local entities.

Prague International Marathon spol. s.r.o. (“PIM“) was established in 1995 by Carlo Capalbo, President of the Organizing Committee, with the aim of staging a world-class international marathon in Prague.

Nearly 1.2 million runners have participated in RunCzech events since its inception. In 2019, we welcomed over 120 000 finishers from 101 different countries.

ALL RUNNERS ARE BEAUTIFUL is our way of welcoming everyone to the world of running.

Initiatives like RunCzech Running League and SuperHalfs were created to motivate casual runners. To support elite European athletes, we created the EuroHeroes Challenge.

RunCzech Racing is dedicated to the development of young athletes, community ties, and sporting excellence. Eight World records so far and over 150 podium finishes for our team!

We host other events such as our Bambini Runs, Family Runs and Junior Marathon Championship to encourage youth participation.

Our FreeRun courses form a network of running trails across the Czech Republic.

Our Running Mall serves as the epicenter of the running world in Prague.