Rodrigue Kwizera and Chaltu Dida Diriba win the Birell 10K Night Race

Saturday night in Prague offered the kind of conditions athletes quietly hope for: warm, still, and just dark enough to feel fast. The Birell 10K Night Race, the marquee event on the RunCzech schedule, delivered its usual theatre, and this time the spotlight belonged to Rodrigue Kwizera, racing under the Spanish flag.

Elite men: Kwizera sharp, records fall

Kwizera sat in the lead group early, letting the pace settle before the inevitable thinning at seven kilometres. Kenyan Victor Kipruto Kiprono surged to the front and looked ready to close out the win. He had the race in hand until he didn’t — a wrong turn behind the lead vehicle in the final metres cost him the victory and dropped him to third.

Kwizera capitalized, breaking the Spanish national record in 27:15. Japan’s Shunya Kikuchi added another headline, lowering the national record to 28:07.

The fastest Czechs

• Damián Vích — 29:12
• Tereza Hrochová — 32:15

Both delivered solid domestic wins in deep international fields.

adidas Women’s 5K Run: Šturmová leads, 4,000 strong

The women’s race unfolded with less drama and more inevitability. Ethiopia’s Chaltu Dida Diriba took command halfway and never relinquished it, finishing in 30:04, eight seconds clear of her sister Robe Dida Diriba. Kenya’s Cynthia Chelangat Chepkwony interrupted the Ethiopian sweep with a strong 30:23 for third.

Austria celebrated a milestone: Carina Reicht ran 31:56, the first Austrian woman to break 32 minutes.

The day opened with the adidas Women’s 5K Run at 18:00. More than 4,000 runners filled Republic Square, and Josefína Šturmová, 18, won in 17:19.
The event continues to draw women of all ages and abilities, helped by its generous 50‑minute time limit. Venezuelan runner Angelika summed up the appeal: it was her first race, she ran it with her sister, and she valued the confidence and safety of a women‑only field.

Night Prague, 14,000 runners, and a full cast of characters

Nearly 14,000 runners took part across the evening program, with the 10K attracting familiar public figures: model Michaela Leitnerová, TV Nova presenter Barbora Šimková, former Prague mayor Zdeněk Hřib, and influencers Mathias Hložek and Tomáš Rys.
Rys — known online as Hateris — ran with his girlfriend in 58 minutes and praised the night atmosphere and crowd support. Other runners echoed the sentiment: Prague’s historic core without traffic, sunset over the castle, and pacers pulling long trains of runners toward their goals.

Medical and logistics: Smooth night, heavy bananas

RunCzech’s medical coverage again included paramedics, AED cyclists, and the Running Doctors team. Only 20 runners required treatment — a low number for an event of this scale.

On the logistics side, Prague delivered its usual mountain of fuel:

2,293 kg bananas
904 kg oranges
29,500 L Mattoni water
2,700 L Gatorade

Results

Top men

Top women