Ostrava (Czech Republic), Saturday 29 April 2017

Dolní oblast Vítkovice, Ostrava, Czechia (Copyright © 2017 Hendrik Böttger / runinternational.eu)

 

The first race of this year's Kilpi Trail Running Cup (KTRC), a series of nine multi-terrain running events in the Czech Republic, will be held in the steel city of Ostrava, the third-largest city in the country with a population of about 300,000.

Situated in a vast coal mining area in the Czechia-Poland border region, Ostrava is a fascinating place to visit for its truly impressive industrial heritage.

The Trail Ostrava offers two races, 5km and 10km long.

Both routes are single-loop courses that begin and end near the Trojhalí (Triple Hall), a complex of historic industrial buildings in the redeveloped Nová Karolina area, site of the former Karolina coking plant:

 

Trojhalí, Ostrava, Czechia (Copyright © 2017 Hendrik Böttger / runinternational.eu)

 

The 5k route is relatively flat as it runs mainly along the River Ostravice. The route includes a loop around the Slezskoostravský hrad (Silesian Ostrava Castle). The difference between the lowest and the highest point on the course is just about seven metres.

 

River Ostravice, Ostrava, Czechia (Copyright © 2017 Hendrik Böttger / runinternational.eu)

 

The 10k is much more challenging. The difference between the lowest and the highest point on the course is 85 metres. The first three kilometres (along the river and around the castle) are mostly flat, but then the route goes uphill and across the Halda Ema, an imposing slag heap that rises east of the city centre.

It's a captivating place that features its own microclimate. The slag deep inside the hill is still burning, so the surface on the summit is always warm. The hill even produces its own clouds of smoke:

 

Halda Ema, Ostrava, Czechia (Copyright © 2017 Hendrik Böttger / runinternational.eu)

 

On the way home to the finish, the route visits another one of Ostrava's many unsual sights, a monument to the liberation of the city in 1945:

 

Monument to the liberation of Ostrava, Czechia (Copyright © 2017 Hendrik Böttger / runinternational.eu)

 

Race information: Trail Ostrava 2017:

Country: Czech Republic

Venue (Map): Ostrava (Katowice 84km, Kraków 148km, Brno 171km, Wrocław 197km, Praha 337km)

Date: 29 April 2017 (Saturday)

Race distance: 5km, 10km

Start time: 10.00

Time limit: 90 minutes (for the 10km race)

Start and finish: K Trojhalí street, near the Trojháli (Triple Hall), Nová Karolina area

Race centre: on the day 7.30-9.30

Entries: online; late entries on the day (7.30-9.00) if the entry limit has not been reached

Entry limit: 1,000 runners

Entry fees:

  • advance entries: CZK 400 (ca. € 14.80)
  • late entries: CZK 500 (ca. € 18.50)

You get: chip timing, drinks on the course, fruit and drinks at the finish, finisher medal, certificate (online), photo

Prizes (5km): to the first three men and three women

Prizes (10km): to the overall winners, to the fastest finishers in each age group and to the fastest three male/female/mixed teams (two runners)

Award ceremony: at 13.00

Number of finishers 2016: 130 (11km), 15 relay teams

Event website (in Czech):

KTRC Trail Ostrava - Event website: www.trailrunningcup.cz/sezona-2017/trail-ostrava

 

No guarantee is made as to the accuracy or thoroughness of the information on this page! Please visit the official event website to verify the above information.