The 13th edition of the Mattoni Half Marathon České Budějovice is just a few days away. Since 2012, the South Bohemian capital has proudly hosted this half marathon, which has grown over the years into the Mattoni Running Festival—a celebration of running that now includes a variety of accompanying events and distances accessible to everyone. For the second year in a row, runners will also take part in the Vodafone 5K Run, alongside the traditional family races: the dm family mile and the dm bambini run for the youngest participants. “Across all Saturday races and non-competitive runs, we expect nearly 7,000 active participants,” estimates Carlo Capalbo, President of the RunCzech Organizing Committee. As always, the heart of the Mattoni Running Festival will be the seond biggest square in Czech Republic – Přemysl Otakar II Square.
The Mattoni Half Marathon České Budějovice, race with the World Athletics Road Race Label, is the second event in this year’s EuroHeroes series following the series opener in Karlovy Vary. “Through this project, RunCzech, in cooperation with European Athletics, aims to support and promote European running heroes to help the public identify with them and become more physically active.,” explained Capalbo. České Budějovice Half has been part of this unique athletics project for the fourth year.
Among the competitors is the winner of the Karlovy Vary race, Nora Szabó. The five-time Hungarian national champion ran a time of exactly 71 minutes—just 11 seconds off her personal best when she won. Also drawing attention is long-time European distance running star Alina Reh. She previously won the European Junior Championships over 3,000 and 5,000 meters and has since reached four finals at senior continental championships. Her career highlights include a bronze medal from the 2018 European Championships in the 10,000 m on the track.
Back in the RunCzech half marathon circuit is German phenomenon Sebastian Hendel. A two-time EuroHeroes series winner, he has already shown strong form this year at the prestigious Adizero: Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, where he was the second-best European in the 10 km road race. Joining him in České Budějovice is Belgian Lahsene Bouchikhi, who placed third in Karlovy Vary and holds a personal best of 1:02:28. Representing the Czech elite is well-prepared RunCzech Racing Team member Patrik Vebr. The 26-year-old runner recently claimed national titles in both the half marathon and 5k, making him the fastest Czech on the course of České Budějovice.
What EuroHeroes is for elite athletes, RunCzech Halfs is for dedicated hobby runners.The Mattoni Half Marathon in České Budějovice marks the third stage of the brand-new RunCzech Halfs series, which kicked off this year with the Generali Prague Half Marathon. Runners who complete all five races in the series — Prague, Karlovy Vary, České Budějovice, Olomouc, and Ústí nad Labem — within a 36-month period will earn a special reward: a unique RunCzech Halfs medal celebrating their achievement.
The main race’s start list is composed of 59% men and 41% women. As usual, the largest groups of international participants come from neighboring countries—Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. In total, runners from 51 nationalities will take part.
In partnership with HEDVEA, RunCzech is introducing the first online medical card for runners in the Czech Republic. This simple system stores important health information about each runner and could save lives in case of emergency during a race. At the April Prague Half Marathon, around half of participants signed up for the card when registering.
The RunCzech running series also contributes to a good cause. The main charity partner of the 2025 Mattoni Half Marathon České Budějovice is the Early Intervention Centre, which helps families with disabled children overcome challenges and live fulfilling lives.
As with other RunCzech events this season, the main race of the České Budějovice running festival will be live-streamed with Czech and English commentary. Czech Television will also broadcast a highlights program on ČT Sport.
Mattoni Running Festival České Budějovice 2025 – Races:
SATURDAY, MAY 31
- 15:00 – Vodafone 5k Run
- 15:00 – Rector’s Cup 5 km Run
- 17:00 – dm family mile (1,609 m)
- 17:45 – dm bambini run (100 m, 150 m, 200 m)
- 19:00 – 2Run (10 km + 11 km)
- 19:00 – Relay Half Marathon (3×5 km + 1×6.0975 km)
- 19:00 – Mattoni Half Marathon České Budějovice (main race – 21.095 km)
