Prague, May 5 (CTK) – Almost five tonnes of bananas and 2.8 tonnes of oranges will be consumed during the 22nd Volkswagen Marathon Prague international event on Sunday, and also 600 hectolitres of water and ion supply drinks, since sunny and warm weather is expected, the organisers have said.
The capacity of the main run at 42 km and 195 metres is 10,600 contesters. It was sold out 69 days after the registration was launched last September.
Apart from marathon runners, 620 four-member relay teams will take part in the main event.
Out of them, eight will be Yellow Ribbon Teams aimed to highlight the problem of employment of former convicts. The teams will include prison inmates, former convicts, Prison Service officers, members of the Ombudsman’s Office and directors of big companies.
Thirty-five music bands will play along the track to encourage the runners from 93 countries. The highest number of foreigners will be from Slovakia, followed by China and France.
The number of Chinese participants has risen to almost 400 from last year’s 152.
Three-quarters of the runners will be men aged 40.4 on average. They cover the Prague Marathon track in the average time of three hours, 49 minutes and six seconds.
The average time of female contestants is 4:17:27.
The oldest runner will be Czech Zdenek Kerner, 81.
German Renate Werz will be the oldest among the women.
Another 5,000 people will take part in the accompanying events such as the family mini marathon, a run in 2.5 kilometres.
