21 km, Half Marathon Euro-style

Call me crazy, but I love running. Really, I do. So when I had the chance to take on the Prague Half Marathon and run 21 km through this city, I took it! Running has been a constant source of happiness for me, particularly living in Prague. Before arriving, I was concerned about the accessibility of the city streets and Praha's penchant for cobblestones. To my surprise, I've found incredible places to run and train, bez (without) cobblestones. Over the past few months, I added some long runs to my weekly running and prepared to conquer 21 km or 13.1 miles.

On Saturday morning, Phil was extremely thankful that the race began at noon instead of the typical 7 or 8 a.m. I'm not sure if all of Europe starts its races later in the day, but my husband thanks the Czechs for deciding it is not a good idea to get up before the sun rises to run. I, on the other hand, was super excited to get going! I met our friend Zach before the race for a warm-up run. He's an architect, Fulbrighter, fellow runner, and all around all-star who ran his first half-marathon! We started the race together, but separated after the first kilometer. Since his legs are as long as I am tall, he ran a bit faster;) It was super fun to have a friend to start with and see at the finish line!

The weather was cooperative, cool but not cold. As we lined up at the start at Jan Palach namesti, I did notice one glaring difference between my previous races in the US and this one. The ratio of men:women runners was about 10:1. I haven't figured out an explanation for the much greater numbers of men, but I was certainly in the minority. The gun sounded at noon, as the race was kicked off by the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus. I guess it is a good thing that the race was important enough to the CZ that the president was there. But with all due respect, I think Mr. Klaus is a little crazy. He doubts both the existence of global warming and the utility of popular elections, but that's a conversation for another day...back to the race...

About half of the race was in beautiful, scenic Prague. Highlights included running in the following places: 1. across Manesuv and Legii Most, two bridges I run all the time, 2. under the Powder Tower, a centuries old Gothic tower 3. down Narodni trida (national boulevard) and passing the street we live on 4. along the Vltava River. The other half of the race was in less scenic Prague, but I didn't mind. Or should I say, my mind was elsewhere for a significant part of the middle of the race. There were some extremely rough patches during stretches of my race. I might blame the headwind along the river, or perhaps I started out a bit too strong, but my race pace definitely slowed down along the way. Not to be deterred, I kept going.

Highlights that made me smile during the race: 1. the Czech bands that played heavy metal, headbanging music at km 9, 11, and 18. There was also a Roxette cover band at the half-way point. Yikes. All were a great way to keep your feet propelling you past the "entertainment" 2. Hearing no less than five different languages being spoken along the way 3. Running by the Staropramen Brewery around km 17 and being stared at by some of the men working. The looks on their faces were saying something like, "Fakt, jo?" which translates roughly to "Really, yes?" They were not buying the idea that running is fun.

We also had dear friends from college in town for the weekend, Corey and Jenna. My personal cheering section did a fantastic job of hollering loud and clear at the start, at km 12, and at the finish. It was pretty special to have their support to look forward to during the race! By the end of the race, I was tired enough that I don't really remember running by the Charles Bridge, one of the most famous sites in all of Prague. All I know is that I was ready to be done! So when I finally crossed the finish line, I had run 21 km in 1 hour and 50 minutes! Yay! I promise, this is fun stuff...