Next Sunday, the streets of Prague will once again resonate with the running steps of thousands of pairs of feet that have decided to conquer the route of the 31st edition of the Prague International Marathon, which this year bears the name Vodafone Marathon Prague. This year, over 11,000 runners from more than a hundred countries around the world will stand at the start of the main race, with the age difference between the youngest and oldest participant being more than 60 years. An additional 4,500 runners are also expected in non-competitive runs on Saturday. During this first Sunday of May, the race will again be held with the World Athletics “Elite Label” quality mark, and in addition to the traditional Czech Marathon Championships, it will also include the European Police Championships in Marathon and the final of this year’s Czech Junior Marathon.
This year’s edition was already sold out before the end of 2025. “We are very pleased with the interest in running through the metropolis,” says Carlo Capalbo, founder of the project and chairman of the RunCzech organizing committee. “When we started organizing the race in 1995, we never even dreamed that the event would grow to such proportions and that many outstanding world-class athletes would gather here every year.” During the 31st edition, breaking the magic 2:05 barrier, which still resists, will be at stake. The closest to conquering it was Kenyan Alexander Mutiso in 2023, who still holds the course record to this day. “There are several runners at the start this year whose performance and form have what it takes to attack the magic barrier. And we would be happy if it were broken; it is also a matter of prestige,” revealed Elite Athlete Manager Jana Moberly regarding the performance ambitions for now. The elite athletes’ start list will be published later. The women’s category course record (2:19:46) has been held for six years by Israeli representative Lonah Chemtai Salpeter. This year as well, the original trophy for the winner will be provided by the Ajeto, which, among other things, produces trophies for the winners of the Tour de France.
However, it is already certain that representatives of at least a hundred nationalities from all continents will race through the streets of Prague, and a live broadcast of the race, which can be watched by more than 60 million households, will be aired to dozens of countries. The broadcast will traditionally be handled by one of the main media partners of the RunCzech series, Czech Television. For the international audience, the Prague race will be made more enjoyable by the renowned commentator Tim Hutchings, the voice of Diamond League meetings and other top athletic events. This year, the number of foreign participants again slightly exceeds domestic runners. “The ratio between foreign runners and Czechs this year is 54:46,” calculates Carlo Capalbo. “While we are glad that runners from abroad come to the Prague International Marathon and a large part, specifically 1,708 of them, are even returning, we are even happier that Czechs take the Vodafone Marathon Prague as their own and we have such a large number of them at the start!” As in the previous year, a strong participation of athletes from France, Great Britain, or Slovakia can be expected; for some, it may be surprising that dozens of runners will also arrive from very distant destinations such as Brazil, Australia, Japan, or South Africa. After all… the aforementioned oldest participant is 79-year-old Lasnier Aurida from France.
As for domestic participants, we can expect a tough battle for the king and queen of the Czech marathon. Yann Havlena will try to follow up on last year’s victory and will be the main favorite among Czech men again this year. He should be challenged mainly by the 2024 winner, Martin Edlman, and also Vít Pavlišta from Liberec. Among the women, Olympian Tereza Hrochová will not be defending last year’s victory, thus opening space for new faces. Success could be achieved, for example, by Petra Pastorová or Eva Filipiová, who were in second and third place respectively among Czech women in 2025, but also perhaps Kateřina Kašparová from USK Prague.
For the first time this year, eight running doctors will also run from Old Town Square. “Their role is very clear and also very important,” notes Carlo Capalbo. “We first tested the running doctors during the half marathon in Naples; they had their premiere in our territory during the Prague Half Marathon and they cannot be missing from the Vodafone Marathon Prague either. Although the doctors will set out on the track along with the others, for them it will not be about the time. They will primarily monitor the other runners and, if necessary, be able to lend a helping hand immediately.” The Running Doctors, as the group is officially named, will be positioned among the participants based on their pace so that they are evenly spread across the entire course.
Prague is already preparing to become the world’s running metropolis again during the first weekend of May. The Marathon EXPO with accompanying runs and a sports-social program will be open at the Výstaviště Holešovice exhibition grounds as early as Friday, May 1, and eleven thousand participants of the main race will set out on the marathon course with the start and finish at Old Town Square on Sunday at 8:00. The entire weekend also has a charitable dimension, with RunCzech supporting the Světluška organization, which is a long-term project of the Czech Radio Endowment Fund that helps the severely visually impaired.
Program of the Marathon Weekend 2026:
SATURDAY, May 2
- 9:30 Lavazza Active Breakfast Run (Letenská pláň); 4.2 km training run for marathon participants
- 15:00 dm family mile (Výstaviště Holešovice); 2000 m
- 16:00 dm bambini run (Výstaviště Holešovice); 100, 150 and 200 m
SUNDAY, May 3
- 8:00 Vodafone Marathon Prague (Old Town Square), main race 42.195 km
- 8:00 Czech Marathon Championships (Old Town Square)
- 8:00 European Police Marathon Championship (Old Town Square)
- 8:00 ČT 2Run Marathon Prague (Old Town Square), 2×21.0975 km
