Palestra Kbelská 10 brought running spring and records, Strnad and Stýblová win

Prague, 3 March 2024

The increased capacity of 1,500 starting numbers was just short of selling out by 35 units. The Palestra Kbelska ten on the northeastern outskirts of Prague still offered a number of records, in ideal weather (13 degrees, sun in places and mainly no wind) also a perfect atmosphere with a band at the start and a bagpiper on the track. The winners were Marek Strnad and Bára Stýblová, both academic titles were awarded to the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague.

From the morning, children ran around in the Central Park and a wellness day was held, as this field forms the backbone of the offer of the Palestra College of Physical Education and Sport. Indeed, its students organise the race as part of the curriculum and once again showed that they can meet the demanding parameters. The circuit was slightly changed, it ran along the branch in Satalice and then slightly deviated in Vinoř. The finish brought the runners to the finish line from the tunnel. The role of the starter was taken by Štěpán Škorpil, a renowned commentator who moderated Kbelská 10 for many years and now handed the baton to Daniel Stach. He managed to accurately describe the flying military helicopters that greeted the competitors at the start. This was also appreciated by Pavel Špaček, the owner of Palestra, who encouraged all the participants.

"I got on at the top of the hill by the bike path and then watched it. But it's always hard when you are chased by a group," smiled the enthusiastic winner Marek Strnad, a student of the Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague, who also won the title of Academic Champion of the Czech Republic. Last year he was second, this year first and for the first time he got under 31 minutes (30:55). Now he is waiting for the track extraliga, where he is collecting points as a miler for AC Pardubice. "My coach wouldn't let me go on any more longer runs, I still have goals on the track. When I can't speed up there anymore, I'll be happy to do road as well," he added.

Jan Halberštát (31:05) from Kerteam crossed the finish line second and Jan Máša (31:09) from Olympus, another of the record field of almost 100 academics, third.

The best woman Bára Stýblová also surpassed her best. Both in position and time (34:04). Moreover, on the day when the medical student also celebrated her 25th birthday. "I never overdid it here. I ran my own race, always trying to catch some groups and the last kilometer to a standstill," said the young lady, who is also targeting the track, where she focuses on steeple in the Olympus jersey. "I want to push the time under ten here and still have some chance of getting through the rankings at the European Championships," the fresh academic champion revealed her plans. Adéla Hluchá (34:49) finished second and 32-year-old doctor Barbora Jíšová (35:33, Eleven Run team) third.

A number of familiar faces have also left their mark. Pavel Wohl, the best Czech long distance triathlete, even held the top position for the first three kilometres of the "iron" training. "I wanted to take nice photos," he laughed. "But it still turned out to be a personal best (32:38) on this course," he assessed his 13th place finish. Filip Vabroušek, yes, the son of a triathlon legend, finished close behind (33:16), his dad missing this time. And then Karel Tyrpekl, until recently a member of the leading cycling stable ATT Investments, was 21st in 33:40. How much would Mathieu van der Poel give? "I run a lot, I enjoy it and it's more efficient at work than the bike. Functionally, I think I'm up to it, it was just a matter of putting my feet up," he commented on the unusual transition.

Veronika Šípová, a league basketball player of USK Prague and a student of Palestra, also ran successfully. Or Jiří Nečásek, marketing director of RunCzech, Central Europe's largest series. But also Vít'a Drtinová, a former participant of their Woman's Challenge project. Now a pensioner with screws in her leg. "I want to enjoy every minute I paid for, and the limit is ninety, isn't it?" she laughed. She did it in exactly 74 and one second. Each participant took away their own experience story.

Spring has started, the program continues in a week with the famous Pečecka ten, where there are also some good bonuses in the pot, and on the next Saturday we will also head to the terrain in the metropolis for the Trail Prague (10/5 km).

Full results can be found here: https://www.sportt.cz/datatables/kbelska2024

Tomas Nohejl

Photo: Petr Váňa