Saturday 5 September 2015

Czech Republic – running through the night

September 5

Hello everyone!

You may know that one of my hobbies is running. I particularly enjoy running in Prague and taking in the beautiful sights. I also ran my first – and at this point only – marathon in the Czech capital 16 months ago.

 
Smiling for the camera before running the Birell 10k in Prague

My previous experience of running in Prague: the 2014 marathon 

One race that I've wanted to do since arriving in Prague in 2013 is the autumn 10k. It is different from other runs in the capital as it is raced during the evening. A fairly flat track and pleasant temperature without a burning sun: perfect conditions to set a new personal best.


The build-up to the race

Unfortunately, I spent most of my summer lugging my backpack around rather than training. On top of that, I’d spent the day of the Prague 10k at a welcome picnic in school. My pre-race meal was thus an extraordinary amount of sugar in the form of cakes and wine.

The first few metres of the 10,000 I was to run

The route was similar to the first section of the marathon, taking in the northern side of the river before returning to the centre for the finish.  Running through a more industrial area wasn't what I had dreamed of but sprinting through the Republic Square (Namesti Republiky) at the start and finish was pretty special.





The final kilometre was excruciating – I genuinely thought I was going to be sick at one point. I managed to hold in the cake to cross the line in a new best time of 39:45 – the first time I've broken the forty-minute mark over the 10,000m distance. Thrilled.







Love you all


Matt 

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