The organizers of the prestigious Birell Prague Grand Prix, which takes place on Saturday, September 2, in the centre of the metropolis, promise attacks on European and Czech records. At 18:00, the adidas Women's race 5 km starts on náměstí Republiky Square, and at 19:30 the heavily populated Birell 10K Race. "I believe we will be able to break some of the records. We have managed to bring elite athletes back and the course will be very fast again," said RunCzech Organising Committee President Carlo Capalbo, whose three Prague races are awarded by World Athletics Elite Label Road Races.

Tadese Worku is one of the main stars of the Birell 10K Race. With a time of 26:56, the twenty-one-year-old Ethiopian is one of the few athletes to break the 27-minute mark on this distance. Alexander Mutiso (27:35), the king of this year's Prague International Marathon, wants to fight with him for the victory. "After this triumph, I flew to Japan and basically prepared mainly for this race. This is my third time here in Prague and I am always happy to come back. I am ready and very focused," said the Kenyan endurance runner at a press conference at the Hilton Prague.

The biggest favourite among the European runners is the Belgian national record holder Simon Debognies (27:48). "It is my first time here in Prague, but I know that the course is fast and that world records have been set here. I have had an excellent training in St. Moritz, Switzerland. I think I am in great shape," said Debognies, who wants to attack the European record of Swiss Wanders (27:13) in the race.

A total of seven RunCzech Racing athletes will take part in the 10 km race. The most famous Czech name among them is the multiple Czech champion Jiří Homoláč (29:37), who changed his destination for the training camp. Kenya has been replaced by Rogla, Slovenia. "I wanted to go somewhere for the training camp and I've been everywhere," he smiled at the press conference. "My girlfriend finally chose Slovenia. And it turned out to be a great choice. It's close from Brno and I ran there at 1500 meters above sea level. I did very good job and got a fresh start," said Homoláč, who was troubled by allergies in the spring part of the season. "This year it was extreme. That's why this part of the season was very bad. I also didn't do some things the way I should have. But I think I made progress and it will show," Homoláč added.

Damián Vích (29:07) and Martin Zajíc (29:45), who often managed to break personal bests this year, want to breathe on his back. "I hope it will be the same tomorrow on the 10 km track," said the current Czech 5 km and 10 km track champion Zajíc.

In the women's category, Janeth Chepngetich (30:28) is the biggest aspirant for the title. "I will give it my all tomorrow. I would also like to beat my personal best from Herzogenaurach," wishes the Kenyan runner, second from this year's Prague Half Marathon. Alemu Tsadik from Ethiopia (30:28) will probably have a big battle with her. The Czech Republic's favorit is Tereza Hrochova (33:43), multiple Czech champion at various distances and currently fourth woman in the half marathon at the Universiade Chengdu 2023.

This year's race course has undergone minor changes, with a lower elevation and promises a faster race. Recall that in 2017, the legendary Joyciline Jepkosgei set the women's world record here in 29:43, which stood for four years. Her time is still the race record.