A meeting place for runners…now that’s a cool idea.  The corner house between Milady Horákové and Františka Křížka Streets in Letna, Prague 7 has been transformed into a Running Mall and unparalleled running crossroads in the heart of Europe.

Race Director of the ING New York City Marathon, Mary Wittenberg whovisited Prague for the first time to mark the occasion, offered the following praise: “The idea of creating a place for people to meet which all runners can draw inspiration from, is absolutely great. We had been thinking about doing the same, however you’ve beaten us to it”

The ground floor is home to the main reception which also boasts a cafe and water bar, a conference room and running club. On top of this, runners will be able to take advantage of the facilities including dressing rooms and showers, and use the venue as a meeting place before heading out for a run in nearby Stromovka or Letna Park – two of the city’s leading running spots. The top floor is to be allocated as the main base for Prague International Marathon team, which heads the RunCzech Running League.

“Until now we’ve only ever had chance to meet up with runners for a few days during the year, always around race time.  But now we’ll be able to have them here every day”,  Chair of the Organizing Committee and author of the concept, Carlo Capalbo noted.

On the eve of the 19^th Volkswagen Prague Marathon, a celebratory opening was held at the new venue last night with a number of prominent personalities from the running world in attendance. Aside from the Race Director of the ING New York City Marathon, guests also included David Bedford, the former Race Director of the Virgin London Marathon and Sean Wallace-Jones from the IAAF, who’s in charge of awarding race Quality Labels.  Also present at the event was the president of The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, Paco Borao along with Chair of the Czech Athletics Association, Libor Varhaník.

Amongst those assigned the task of cutting the ribbon, was Olympic decathlon winner, Roman Šebrle who has just returned from a six-month stint in Honolulu.

The RunCzech running league brings together all the prestigious Prague races organized under the Prague International Marathon heading, along with races in selected regions of the Czech Republic organized by tempo team Prague, and collectively known as the RunCzech races.  This series of races spanning the whole Czech Republic allows all those involved to combine their passion for running with a love for travel.

During the course of 2012, 64,043 runners from all over the world took part in the RunCzech running league.

Until next time…