The year of Covid. Adversity proved to be the Mother of Invention in 2020. When all mass participation events were cancelled due to the pandemic, we improvised. We staged smaller races in more interesting locations. A brewery, airports and other venues that could be safely managed. Including an elite race on a closed loop that resulted in a new World Record in the women's half marathon set by Peres Jepchirchir.

This year we celebrate two important anniversaries - 25 years of Volkswagen Prague Marathon and 10 years of Mattoni  Olomouc Half Marathon.

Eva Vrabcová Nývltová won the Prague Half Marathon among Czech Women. With the time 1:11:01 she broke the record that had endured for 24-years. RunCzech kicked off EuroHeroes project, designed to support European Athletics and search for new local heroes like Zátopek. Also, Liberec Nature Run had its first edition. 

Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, a member of the RunCzech Racing team, broke the world half marathon record as well as the 10km, 15km and 20km marks at the Sportisimo Prague ½  Marathon on the way to winning the race in 1:04:52. Jepkosgei continued her stellar performance in September at the Birell Grand Prix where she bettered her 10 km world road record to 29:43. The total of 9 event records and 4 Czech records were broken at the RunCzech 2017 series. 

Eva Vrabcová finished the Volkswagen Prague Marathon in 2:30:10 and lowered the Czech record previously held by Alena Peterková since 2000 by 58 seconds. The Prague‘s performance secured Vrabcová a spot for the Rio Olympics. The RunCzech team starts to work on two races in Italy - Napoli City Half Marathon and Sorrento Positano.

The Half Marathons in Olomouc and Ústí nad Labem are awarded the IAAF Road Race Gold Label.

The Prague Marathon celebrates its 20 year anniversary; the race is at full capacity by the beginning of the year. Prague completes its collection of Gold Labels as the Birell Prague Grand Prix is also awarded the IAAF Road Race Gold Label.

A brand new RunCzech headquarters called the Running Mall is opened in Prague’s Letná district. RunCzech Running League expands to include the Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half Marathon.

With a time of 58:47 at the Prague Half Marathon, Atsedu Tsegay becomes the fourth fastest man ever.  With another Half Marathon, this time in České Budějovice, a new brand is created called RunCzech comprising all the races in the Czech Republic. Jan Kreisinger, with a time of 2:16:25, secured a nomination for the London Olympics.

After Olomouc, Ústí nad Labem is added as a second Half Marathon outside of Prague. The first Gold PIM Kings, who ran all 15 editions, are announced.

For the first time, a race is held outside of Prague – the Half Marathon in Olomouc. The Prague Marathon is awarded the IAAF Road Race Gold Label. A record number of 7,934 runners participate at the Marathon.

The Prague Half Marathon is the first race from the series to receive the highest award – the IAAF Road Race Gold Label.

  The Men’s 10K Race, as a part of the Grand Prix, is awarded the IAAF Road Race Silver Label.

  The Marathon Sport Expo with over 30,000 visitors becomes the largest sports fair in the country.

The number of participants in the Prague Marathon is exceeded by the number of Half     Marathon runners for the first time.

The biggest star of the Grand Prix is Stefano Baldini, the Olympic champion from Athens.

Róbert Štefko’s third place win in the Prague Marathon in 2:12:33 secures him a nomination to the Olympic Games in Athens.

The Prague Marathon is started by Václav Klaus, the president of the Czech Republic. The Grand Prix is now open to the public.

The first in-line skate race takes place in the evening before the marathon and is attended by 530 skaters.

The running legend Haile Gebrselassie wins the Grand Prix. The new women’s marathon record is set by Maura Viceceonte from Italy (2:26:33).