FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PIM REFLECTS ON A RECORD BREAKING FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON
Prague, July 1st, 2011: With half of the year now gone and as the sport of
long distance running quietens down a little through the hot summer months,
the Prague International Marathon spol. s r.o. ("PIM") can reflect back on
an astonishing first six months, with records smashed and new targets in
place for the rest of its PIM Running Circuit season.
On April 2nd, the Hervis Prague Half Marathon, as usual, was the opening
race of the season, and for the first time in PIM's history, registration
closed early nearly three weeks before the race as the number of entries
received had already reached capacity. The size of the field and the number
of spectators turning out to support the race made the Hervis Prague Half
Marathon the biggest sporting event of the year in the Czech Republic.
The actual race, already the holder of an IAAF Road Race Gold Label, the
highest award for a long distance running event, was a huge success with a
world class field of elite athletes turning out to take part and
exceptional times posted by the winners in all categories. Both the men's
and women's races saw new records set, with the men's winner, Philemon
Limo, setting a new race record of 59:30, the third fastest performance, as
well as the third fastest event of the year for the half marathon. The
women's winner, Lydia Cheromei also set a new race record of 1:07:33, which
was the second fastest performance of the year and the second fastest event
to date.
May saw the Volkswagen Prague Marathon, another IAAF Gold Label holder,
welcoming a maximum capacity field of nearly 8,500 runners – an increase of
600 runners over last year. The race also resulted in the tenth fastest
men's performance as well as the 6th fastest event so far this year, with
Benson Kipchumba Barus finishing with a new personal best of 2:07:07 and
the Kenyan runner, Lydia Cheromei, smashing the women's record by more than
three minutes in a time of 2:22:34, to become the fourth fastest woman in
the second fastest event in the world this year. Also for this race, the
registration closed a few days before the official registration deadline.
Talking about what is the‚ jewel in PIM's crown, Carlo Capalbo, the
President of the Organising Committee said:
"The weekend of the Volkswagen Prague Marathon is always a rollercoaster of
emotions, achievement and pride for all of us at PIM and for everyone else
that is involved, whether as a runner, supporter or spectator. This year
was just incredible; we had President Klaus sharing the starting podium
with the Czech Republic's golden boy, Pavel Nedved, and Rudolf Javurek, the
General Manager of the partner of the race, Volkswagen. We welcomed runners
from more than 90 different nations and we saw the streets of Prague alive
with people who just wanted to turn out and support what is now turning
into an annual phenomenon."
Whilst the PIM Running Circuit took a well earned break, its sister
company, tempo team prague s.r.o. ("tempo team") was busy with the
Volkswagen Olomouc Half Marathon, which broke records for the second year
just a couple of weeks ago; for the men's race, Shami Abdulahi Dawit
achieved the fourth fastest time in the second fastest event this year in
the Czech Republic, coming in at 1:00:44, and Netsanet Achamo smashed the
women's record by 2 minutes 31 seconds in a fantastic time of 1:10:41.
Tempo team is now preparing for the first ever Usti Half Marathon later in
September, whilst PIM itself starts building momentum towards its annual
Mattoni Prague Grand Prix on September 10th, which incorporates the METRO
10km Race (now open to both men and women), and the adidas Women's Race
5km.
Says Capalbo:
"Anyone who thinks that running on cobblestones is difficult should think
again! When you consider the times posted in all of our main races this
year, we can now say that the races in the Czech Republic are some of the
fastest in the world! Whilst it would be too much to hope that we might
break a few records in September, we still have a few special initiatives
up our sleeve, so you just never know!"
For more information, go to www.praguemarathon.com.
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