The EuroHeroes project, organised by RunCzech in cooperation with European Athletics, was created to support and raise the profile of elite European runners. Following the half marathons in Karlovy Vary, České Budějovice and Olomouc, the series moves to its final stop of the year – the Mattoni Half Marathon Ústí nad Labem. At the moment, Spain’s Jorge Blanco and Carolina Robles lead the standings, but Damián Vích and Tereza Hrochová are close behind.
The penultimate stop in Olomouc, held in mid-June, significantly reshuffled the overall standings. Carolina Robles currently leads the women’s standings with 2,254 points, having also set a new European race record. Her predecessor at the top, Natasha Wilson, did not start in Olomouc, which saw her drop to third place with 2,145 points. Czech star Tereza Hrochová moved into second place with 2,224 points after two remarkably consistent performances. The native of Česká Lípa will have a unique opportunity to move into first place. The Spaniard will not compete in the northern Bohemian metropolis due to her participation in the concurrent World Road Running Championships, while Tereza has, conversely, sacrificed her participation in the race in Copenhagen for the chance to win the overall EuroHeroes title. However, to take the overall victory, she would have to run 1:09:22, which is well below her personal best. “Considering how the Spanish athlete ran in Olomouc this year, I don’t really think it is realistic for me to move into first place overall. But we’ll see how the series develops,” the 30-year-old athlete admitted in a pre-race interview, adding: “In any case, I really like the EuroHeroes concept. It gives European runners the opportunity to compete against each other and fight for positions within their own competitive field, so I’m glad this concept works.”
In the men’s category, last year’s winner Khalid Choukoud of the Netherlands has dropped to fourth place, while Spain’s Jorge Blanco has taken over the lead with 2,109 points. Ukraine’s Mykola Mevsha is second with 2,083 points, while Germany’s Jan Lukas Becker rounds out the top three with 2,029 points. Among the home runners, Matěj Hrebačka has performed best so far in the strong European competition, currently sitting in seventh place overall with 1,799 points. We would search in vain for Karlovy Vary winner Damián Vích near the top of the overall standings, as he did not compete in any of the other spring races. However, if he delivers an outstanding performance in the Ústí half marathon and wins his head-to-head battle with the Spanish runner, he could also claim overall victory in this year’s edition. For that to happen, he would have to clock a time of 1:03:14, and the Spaniard would have to fail to run 1:03:38 or faster. “I’m trying not to focus too much on EuroHeroes. As always, I’ll go into the race with the goal of putting in the best performance I can, and we’ll see what position that will ultimately be enough for in the series. The tactic is simple for me: try to win this particular race,” explained Vích.
The overall EuroHeroes series standings are based on the two highest scores from the scoring races. This gives runners comparable chances of achieving a high overall position and earning an attractive financial bonus without having to compete in all four half marathons. This year, too, all EuroHeroes stops boast the prestigious World Athletics Road Race Label, guaranteeing a top-class organisational standard and the unique atmosphere of world-class running events. The overall winners of this year’s edition will be decided in northern Bohemia on Saturday, 19 September.
EuroHeroes Challenge Standings (after 3 of 4 races):
Men:
- Jorge Blanco (ESP) – 2,109 points (1,045 + 1,064)
- Mykola Mevsha (UKR) – 2,083 points (1,035 + 1,048)
- Jan Lukas Becker (GER) – 2,029 points (1,032 + 997)
- Khalid Choukoud (NED) – 2,003 points (991 + 1,012)
- Artur Bossy (ESP) – 1,945 points (994 + 951)
- Lahsene Bouchikhi (BEL) – 1,922 points (955 + 967)
- Matěj Hrebačka (CZE) – 1,799 points (887 + 912)
- David Vaš (CZE) – 1,672 points (845 + 827)
- Jiří Homoláč (CZE) – 1,655 points (835 + 820)
Women:
- Carolina Robles (ESP) – 2,254 points (1,114 + 1,140)
- Tereza Hrochová (CZE) – 2,224 points (1,112 + 1,112)
- Natasha Wilson (GBR) – 2,145 points (1,067 + 1,078)
- Michaela Čepová (CZE) – 2,111 points (1,058 + 1,053)
- Kristina Hendel (GER) – 2,031 points (1,001 + 1,030)
- Cristina Silva (ESP) – 1,952 points (987 + 965)
- Hana Homolková (CZE) – 1,883 points (938 + 945)
- Barbora Vahalíková (CZE) – 1,699 points (846 + 853)
