Running connects us with nature. That is why we want to help protect the environment in which we run, train and live.
The Running for Trees (Běžím pro stromy) project has been connecting running with the care of the Czech landscape since 2005. In cooperation with the Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation (Nadace Partnerství), we give runners the opportunity to turn their passion for running into tangible support for nature. Over more than 20 years, contributions from RunCzech race participants have helped support the planting of more than 4,000 trees and shrubs across the Czech Republic.
Our goal is not only to plant new trees, but also to support healthier, more resilient landscapes for future generations. Trees help retain water, cool their surroundings, protect the soil, provide habitats for wildlife and improve the quality of life in towns and cities. Restored avenues, tree-lined cycling routes, small wooded areas and other green spaces also benefit people who live, relax and exercise in these environments.
Getting involved is simple. When registering for a RunCzech race, participants can choose the Running for Trees project and contribute CZK 250 towards tree planting and the protection of green spaces. Donations can also be made independently through the project’s fundraising initiative.
Every contribution helps create greener surroundings and supports tree planting and subsequent care in places where it is needed most. Through the Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation and the Sázíme budoucnost (Planting for the Future) initiative, the funds raised support tree planting and green-space care in Czech communities and landscapes.
Running for Trees demonstrates how a small individual decision can have a lasting impact when thousands of people make the same choice. Every contribution, every tree planted and every initiative that helps nature counts.
We would like to thank all the runners who join us in making the Czech landscape greener and healthier. Thanks to you, running has a wider purpose: alongside personal goals and sporting achievements, it also brings tangible benefits to the world around us.
We run for ourselves. We run for nature. We run for the future.
They cool their surroundings – their shade can lower temperatures by several degrees.
They humidify the air – one tree can evaporate up to 400 liters of water per day in summer.
They provide shelter and food for hundreds of animal species.
They filter dust – capturing up to 2 kg of particles per year and cleaning the air.
They reduce noise and improve quality of life, not only in cities.
They help water infiltration and protect soil from erosion.
They improve soil quality and support life underground.
They store CO₂ – one tree can capture up to 1.2 tons over its lifetime.
Thanks to the dedication of 9,333 runners, our 20-year partnership, since the beginning, has led to the planting of 4,005 trees across the Czech Republic.
They cool the landscape – their shade can lower temperatures by several degrees.
They humidify the air – together, they can evaporate up to 1.6 million liters of water per day in summer.
They provide shelter and food for millions of animals.
They filter the air – capturing up to 8 tons of dust per year.
They reduce noise and improve quality of life, not only in cities.
They help water infiltration and protect soil from erosion.
They improve soil quality and support life underground.
They store CO₂ – over their lifetime, they can capture up to 4,800 tons of carbon dioxide.
Thanks to the commitment of 8,477 runners, our 19-year partnership, since the beginning, has resulted in the planting of 3,898 trees across the Czech Republic.
Since the beginning of our cooperation, which has lasted for 18 years, a total of 3,798 trees have been planted across the Czech Republic thanks to the support of 7,878 runners.
In 2022, Emil Zátopek would have missed the centenary of his birth and 70 years have passed since his phenomenal performance at the Olympic Games in Helsinki. That’s why we wanted to complete the marathon alley and dedicate it to Emil and all the runners from all over the world. For 2021 and 2022, we collected a total of CZK 392,000 as part of the joint campaign for Marathon Avenue.
This year was affected by the coronavirus pandemic, when most of our races were cancelled. Runners could contribute to trees at only two races, namely in Liberec and Ústí nad Labem. Despite these restrictions, it was possible to contribute to the planting of 130 trees.
We are facing perhaps the greatest challenge in human history. Our job is to prepare our earth for climate change and all that comes with it. And trees are among the most powerful tools available to humans. What can one full-grown sturdy tree do?
Through online registration for individual races, you have the opportunity to donate to the “I run for trees” charity project. Thanks to him, RunCzech together with the Foundation has been supporting the planting and protection of trees for the fourteenth year. Every year, the foundation uses the selected funds to plant new trees, restore avenues along roads, line trees around bike paths, or treat old trees. Almost 3,500 new trees and bushes grew thanks to the runners.
From 2019, you can contribute to plantings under the banner of the nationwide planting initiative We are planting the future. It aims to plant 10 million trees in Czech cities and countryside within a 5-year horizon, symbolically one for every Czech.
This year was unique due to the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia – the involved “tree runners” ran for the Trees of Freedom 1918-2018. It was a campaign to help discover trees planted to mark major milestones in our history, treat them and plant new ones. In total, more than 4,500 historical trees of freedom were discovered, and during the autumn, more than 2,700 new trees of freedom, mainly lindens, were planted, which will remind us of the importance of freedom and democracy. You can read a detailed report on the entire project here.
During the 2018 running season, 980 tree runners managed to collect a total of 148,550 CZK.
Thank you all very much!
Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon: 115 runners, 28 750 Kč
Volkswagen Marathon Prague – 129 runners, 32 250 Kč
Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half Marathon – 135 runners, 13 500 Kč
Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon – 101 runners, 10 100 Kč
Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon – 170 runners, 17 000 Kč
Birell Prague Grand Prix – 93 runners, 23 250 Kč
Mattoni Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon – 101 runners, 10 100 Kč
Liberec Nature Run – 136 runners, 13 600 Kč
On October 24, 2018, a training run was held to the two found trees of freedom in Letná, which ended with the joint planting of two new linden trees in the Letná park.
During the 2017 cross-country season, 657 tree runners managed to collect a total of 101,550 CZK. All collected money will be used for the autumn planting of trees in the municipalities: Kopřivnice, Račiněves, Merboltice, Podbřežice. Thank you to all tree walkers!
A total of 758 runners contributed a total of CZK 120,050 to the planting of new trees during this year’s RunCzech Running League 2016. During October and November, new trees were planted in Lešná (Zlín Region), Velké Týnec (Olomouk Region), Liptál (Zlín Region), Obrubce (Central Bohemia Region), Rosice (South Moravian Region) and Velké Popovice (Central Bohemia Region). Thank you to everyone who they supported the planting of new trees. You are great!
In 2015, 848 Czech and foreign RunCzech runners supported the planting and protection of trees. We managed to collect almost 150,000 crowns, which we used together with the Partnership foundation to plant 181 trees and bushes in five places in the republic – in Březina in South Moravia (37 fruit trees), Český Rudolec in South Bohemia (40 cherry and plum trees), in Kutná Hora (50 fruit trees), in Netín in Vysočín (19 small-leaved lindens) and in Smržovka in the Liberec region (25 edible cranes).
More than eight hundred Czech and foreign runners of the RunCzech races in 2014 contributed to the Partnership Foundation for tree planting. Thanks to their support, it was possible to collect almost 160,000 crowns, which were used to plant trees in seven places in the country. Linden trees, oaks, beeches, cranes, cherry trees, apple trees, walnut trees, plum trees and pear trees have been added to the avenues, gardens and draws – a total of 450 new trees and shrubs. In October and November, local volunteers together with children from schools and kindergartens, scouts, people with mental and mixed disabilities and representatives of non-profit organizations dropped them off. They are now enjoying the new trees in Zásmuký, Líbeznice, Ročov and Vsetín, where they have installed field paths used for walking and cycling. Thanks to the planting of trees, pleasant places to relax were also created in the Experimental Garden in Pravonín, the garden of Villa Čerych in Česká Skalica and in the integration center for people with disabilities in Pátek u Peruca.
