The local running season has not been ended, just rescheduled. Photo credit: Freepik / For illustrative purposes.
People have been doing extraordinary things to stay in shape while half the world has sheltered in place to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. One guy in England ran 6 meters, back and forth, in his backyard to complete a marathon in just over five hours. Another British man repeatedly climbed the stairs in his home — a total of 41,000 steps — to reach 8,848 meters, the equivalent Mount Everest.
Perhaps some Brnoans have held a plank position while watching a Netflix movie. Maybe some have done an additional Burpee every day so that they are now up to more than three dozen. Some may have regularly followed online yoga classes or even hosted exercise routines for colleagues.
Or, perhaps not. Maybe some, despite their best intentions, have put on weight.
In any case, the local coronavirus restrictions are slowly being relaxed. That is good news for those in need of a goal.
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There are many reasons that running is a popular recreational sport. It is healthy, both physically and mentally. It is an individual sport that can include a social aspect. The local calendar offers many potential goals. And training requires planning and discipline, both of which bolster the personal and professional parts of life.
Most of all, running is freedom: There is nothing quite like leaving everything behind and going for a reinvigorating run, be it a short jaunt around the neighborhood to clear the head or a Saturday-morning trail run through a chilly forest.
During this coronavirus pandemic, the freedom of running has been curtailed. Now there are some dates that you can circle.
• The Brno Half Marathon, which was supposed to have been run yesterday, was “held” by individuals running their own routes throughout the region. It was a way to capitalize on the many kilometers of training that they had logged. BehejBrno.com has other races that are scheduled for this year. Click here for announcements and information.
• Run Tour 2020, which annually holds races in eight different Czech cities, has hosted two virtual races where participants log their kilometers to raise money to fight COVID-19. The Brno run, which had been scheduled for early May, will now be run on July 11. The race has 5 km and 10 km versions at Brno Lake. Click here for more information.
• RunCzech, which hosts the biggest races on the Czech calendar, had to make adjustments that affected thousands of domestic and international runners. They announced the following new race dates:
– The Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon — Aug. 30, 2020
– The Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon — Sept. 6, 2020
– The Volkswagen Prague Marathon — Oct. 11, 2020
– The Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half Marathon — Oct. 24, 2020
– The Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon — Oct. 31, 2020
This is just conjecture, but, given the difficulty (and, perhaps, trepidation) for rescheduling international travel, there may be open slots for the premiere races, like the hard-to-get-into marathon on Oct. 11. Click here for more information.
• Tri-Expert Cup, which has weekly races around Brno during the summer, has postponed the start of its series to July 1. This 24th season will have 12 races, down from 20. Click here for more information.
