On Saturday evening, under the glowing lights of the capital, Vích answered the challenge to become the first-ever Czech champion in the twenty-eight-year history of the Birell 10k Night Race Prague. He crossed the finish line in 28:46, securing the new Czech course record and the second-fastest performance of his career.
“The people really helped me enormously on the course, we were in contact the whole time. And that’s why I do it – for that feeling of support from the fans, which brings me great joy,” said the 27-year-old member of the RunCzech Racing Team.
How many messages and congratulations did you receive after your triumph at the Birell 10K?
The response was huge. I spent all of Sunday going through them, and even the next day wasn’t enough to get through everything. One hundred percent of the messages were positive. A special highlight for me was that the official adidas Instagram account, which has over three million followers, reached out to me and asked me to reshare a post. I really appreciate that – in a way, it’s a kind of life dream.
From the start it looked like you had the race under control. Did everything go according to plan?
The pacer (Peter Ďurec) did a really good job, he went to the maximum of his abilities. He took it exactly as far as we had agreed. After that I missed more runners around me, it definitely would have made a difference. Running alone for so long is mentally very tough.
In the Birell 10K Night Race, the second half of the course features a more challenging profile, right?
Yes, the second half has a lot of cobblestones, which is not ideal. It feels almost like running on sand, because your legs buckle under you. There are also more climbs, but uphill running doesn’t bother me. I went into the race knowing the second half would be slower.
On the other hand, you went out really hard in the first half. Some splits even matched the pace of a 28:00 finish. That was brutal.
It’s true that in the first half I left a bit more energy on the course than I should have. But that’s fine – even before the start I said I wouldn’t hide, that I would go for it and show the best performance I could here in the Czech Republic. And it turned into the second-best 10K of my career, just 25 seconds behind my national record on the flat, fast course in Valencia.
Can you really compare the performances from those two races?
My form is better now than it was in Valencia, and I left more effort out there. So for me, the performance in Prague has greater value. At the same time, I proved to myself that the national record on the 10K can be broken in the Czech Republic, and I will definitely try again.
On that same course in Valencia, the current European and world records were set, along with six of the top ten all-time European performances. You’ll be back on the world’s fastest course in January. What can we expect from you?
I’d like to attack the 28-minute barrier, which in some way was already hanging in the air on Saturday. In Valencia, the competition will be stronger and the course faster, but I don’t go into races with specific time goals. I prefer to focus on my preparation and on my performance during the race itself.
And how did you experience the electrifying atmosphere of Prague on Saturday night, created by thousands of spectators lining the course?
As I said, I value my performance all the more because I achieved it at home. The support from the Czech fans was incredible! I can honestly say that I’ve probably never experienced such an atmosphere in a race before. I think I helped spark that stormy mood a bit myself by going out so fast and leading.
RunCzech races are known for connecting runners and fans into one community. Did you feel that here as well?
Absolutely. The people really helped me enormously on the course, we were in contact the whole time. And that’s why I do it – for that feeling of support from the fans, which means so much to me.
