Strength of running, strength of partnership
The tradition of Olympic Runs began in the Czech Republic in 1987. In 2015, the event was given a new, unified form and reached an unexpected breadth. This year, participants can again choose in the unified registration system one of the three categories of runs that will be held in many cities across the Czech Republic. The partnership between the Czech Olympic Committee and T-Mobile aims to make the T-Mobile Olympic Run one of the biggest running events in the country. “All those unable to participate in any of the mass events will again have an opportunity to take on an individual challenge by means of the Endomondo mobile application,” adds Jan Stanko, Vice President Marketing Communication at T-Mobile.
Olympic Run in all corners of the Czech Republic
This year, the Czech Olympic Committee has a clear vision: to exceed the total number of 23 cities that participated in the 2015 edition. “Organising a bronze Olympic Run is not extremely demanding and we believe that as many communities of running enthusiasts across the Czech Republic as possible will join us,” says Marek Tesař, Marketing Director of the Czech Olympic Committee, appealing to potential organisers to join the event. “An Olympic year is a celebration of the hard work of top-level athletes. But I believe it is key to support the Olympic ideal through the traditional Olympic Run also this year and motivate as many people in the Czech Republic as possible to run. In addition to evening runs, we are also organising children’s morning runs for more than 20,000 kids in cooperation with schools and Koh-i-noor,” adds Jiří Kejval, President of the Czech Olympic Committee.
Support the Czech Olympic Foundation
At a press conference, representatives of the Czech Olympic Committee and T-Mobile handed over to the Czech Olympic Foundation a cheque for CZK 175,420 representing the voluntary donations raised during last year’s edition of the event. This year, all participating runners can donate a part of the starting fee to a good cause. The Czech Olympic Foundation supports socially disadvantaged young athletes aged 6-18 who are prevented from participating in sports by a lack of money.
Cities confirmed as of 15 March 2016:
Gold runs: Prague, České Budějovice, Ostrava
Silver runs: Kadaň, Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Stříbro
Bronze runs: Bedřichov, Děčín, Holubov, Ivančice, Jihlava, Kostelec nad Orlicí, Most, Račice, Teplice, Valašské klobouky, Vrchlabí, Zlín
T-Mobile Olympic Run 2016 is being held with the support of the Czech Sokol Association, the ČeskýBěh.cz portal administered by the Czech Athletic Federation and the Prague – European Capital of Sport 2016 project.
More information is available at www.olympijskybeh.cz.