Excitement ensued at the Birell Grand Prix Prague on Saturday evening September 7. The Birell 10K race lineup promised a fast event and it delivered. Kenyan Dennis Kibet Kitiyo took first place at 27:17 followed by another Kenyan Vincent Kibet Langat in 27:25. Diana Chepkorir confirmed her bib number “1” and took the gold in a fast 30:12.
The men’s race
Even though the start of the race was at 7:30 pm the temperature was still quite high. The men’s elite field was on pace to break 27 minutes as they began the race in sub 26:50 pace. Until the fifth kilometre, the leading group, holding together, cooperating and ready to finish in the desired time. There was a change at the seventh kilometre when the field broke a bit, leaving Kitiyo and Worku at the front. From the eighth kilometre onwards, Kitiyo ran alone and tried to push his time under 27 minutes. Second place was Vincent Kibet Langat with a 27:25 performance and the third place finisher was defending champion, Ethiopian Tadese Worku in 27:32. Favourited Rodrigue Kwizera finished fourth with 27:39.
“I am very happy because I was the fastest. I tried to push and push but it was really hot. There were better guys than me so I am really very happy to win,” said Kitiyo.
The women’s race
Diana Chepkorir was also thrilled about her victory: “I am very tired but very happy,” said the Kenyan. Chepkorir left the field and also her pacemaker behind right after start closely following the male group. In the middle of the race, she slowed a bit and then tried to finish in under 30 minutes which she missed by a few seconds. Second place was Miriam Chebet more than one minute behind Chepkorir in 31:28. Ethiopian Lemlem Nibret Alemu finished third at 32:20.
Czech favourite Martin Zajíc (30:16), the multiple national champion in the 10k distance, finished second after a surprising winner Jan Friš 30:12 who finished alongside Chepkorir in the same time. Third was Patrik Vebr, both Vebr and Zajíc are members of RunCzech Racing Team. The first Czech woman was Tereza Hrochová, a Czech Olympian who ran to a new personal best of 33:17.
Adidas women’s 5K
At 6:00 pm the adidas Women’s Race 5K started with 2200 runners. It was the largest female-only event in Prague. The purpose of the race is to introduce Czech women to racing. Marcela Joglová, former Czech marathoner and Tokyo 2021 Olympian took part in the race to support the charity cause. “I enjoyed it very much to run again and for a good cause, it made me very happy,” said Joglová in the finish. The winner was Radka Hanzlová, 18:08.
Both 5k and 10k events were sold out, in the 10K race there were 5500 participants. Birell 10K Race holds Elite Label Road Race and was also streamed on the Inside Track by World Athletics. Fast course and magical evening Prague surroundings seem to be very attractive for both elite and hobby runners showing that Birell Grand Prix belongs to the top-class running events.
