March 28th, 2015 – It was a gray and chilly Saturday morning when some of Avast’s fittest gathered to run in the 17th edition of the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon. As the biggest running event in the Czech Republic, this year’s race drew in over 12,000 participants. Thirteen brave Avastians ran the event’s full 21 kilometers and 12 (also brave) Avastians ran in relay teams. The relay teams consisted of four members, three of whom ran five kilometers and a fourth who ran six. The Avast runners chose to support the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation, an organization that works to support handicapped, abandoned and discriminated individuals in their integration into society.

Let the race begin

 
The race took place in Prague’s historic city center along the Vltava River. Both the start and end points of the race were positioned in Jan Palach Square, named after Jan Palach, a student who immolated himself to protest the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1969. At the starting line, I found myself stretching and warming up next to thousands of fellow participants. As we eagerly waited for the race to begin, some sort of miracle occurred – the sun’s rays made their way through the clouds, warming our cold bodies and lifting our spirits. Then, at noon, the starting pistol was fired and we began the race, appropriately accompanied by the sounds of Bedrich Smetana’s “The Moldau”. This celebrated piece of classical Czech music evokes the sounds of the Vltava River, the body of water that served as the backbone of the race.

 

Step out of your comfort zone

 
The Prague Half Marathon was the first official race that I’ve taken part in. I ran five kilometers as part of one of Avast’s three relay teams. Intimidating is definitely a word one could use when describing the experience — when the race began, literally thousands of people ran past me and it soon became somewhat of a struggle to keep up in the constant stream of runners. However, it was great having my colleagues there for moral support. During the first kilometer, one of my colleagues passed me, giving me a cheerful greeting en route to complete the race’s full 21 km.

As I ran, I let the Vltava’s breeze cool me off while I basked in the sun’s warmth and admired Prague’s breathtaking views. Within just two kilometers, I had passed some of the city’s most famous sites, including the Charles Bridge, National Theater, and Dancing House. Out of the corner of my eye, I could even see the Prague Castle on the other side of the river. Upon reaching the five kilometer mark, I handed my baton chip over to my teammate, who continued on and crossed the Vltava to meet our third runner.
 

The results

 
Each of the Avast relay teams completed the half marathon in just under two hours. The individual runners, who ran the full length of the race, all finished within two and a half hours. To top it all off, Avast’s fastest runner, Adam Simek, came in 88th place out of the 12,500 runners who participated, completing the half marathon in a remarkable one hour and 18 minutes!

 

A message to my fellow Avast runners: You guys all did an amazing job and I hope you have all recuperated from the run I look forward to running with you again next year!