THE KILPI RACING TEAM RULED AT THE B7
10. 09. 2018
95 kilometres, an elevation difference of 5 470 metres, a time limit of 29 hours and nearly 3 000 runners – these are the clear stats which aptly represent the extreme race and, at the same time, the Czech Championship of the mountain half-marathon for couples, called the Beskydy’s Seven, which took place in the Beskydy mountains, in the Czech Republic. The best ones were able to run the track in 12 hours.
Almost three thousand sports enthusiasts were ready to start the race at 10 P.M., including Vláďa and Jarda, racing under the flag of the Kilpi Racing Team.
Even at the starting grid, they already had great expectations: “B7 is special due to the fact that you run in couples. I have already run it twice, but, unlike this year, last year I ran with a partner that I did not know well, and it was not that good,” says Jarda, and Vláďa adds that “we knew each other’s skills well and wanted the fastest time possible. Besides practising together, it is definitely important to practice by yourself as well. During the race, cooperation, however, is the key to success. We knew that I am better at down-runs, whereas Jarda is stronger at running up the hills, so we psyched each other up during the race.” They then both agreed that to practice well for such a race, it is necessary to run or walk two to three hundred kilometres per month, but more importantly, to get used to a mountainous terrain.
The track of the race led across the ridges of the Beskydy Mountains between the two Czech cities, Třinec and Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. The racers had to run up and down mountains such as Lysá hora (1324 m.), Smrk (1276 m.), Čertův mlýn (1205 m.), Radhošť (1129 m.)and Velký Javorník (918 m.n.m.) – you can check the profile of the track here. The race was truly demanding and our runners went through several crises during the race. “For example, Jarda slept through the whole run-up to the Smrk mountain,” laughs Vláďa. Another Crisis came at Čertův mlýn, where our racers were beginning to run out of strength. As they said: “The run to the last mountaintop, Javorník, was more about a strong will than anything else.”
Our couple regards the very last kilometre in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm as the best part of the track, though, since their families and friends were awaiting them there. It was a huge encouragement, which helped to mobilize all their remaining energy for the finish. Kilpík, the reindeer, was also awaiting the runners at the finish in the square and welcomed them enthusiastically.
KILPI RACING TEAM was not actually represented only by one, but two teams, the first one consisting of Vláďa Řehák and Jarda Vicher, and the second, mixed, a couple, Tomáš Přibylka and Monika Gemelová. Vláďa and Jarda got on the winners’ podium twice, by winning the LONG category U35 and by taking third position in overall ranking. They finished the LONG track at 12:46:32. Tomáš and Monika gained fourth place in their category, reaching the finish line after 15:56:20.
If you would also like to experience the marvellous atmosphere of this race, stand side by side with our athletes and compete with them, you could start preparing and look forward to the next year’s race, which takes place from 30th August to 1st September 2019. An innovation for the next year will be the single category. Kilpík the reindeer will, of course, be there as well ;-)
Photos: Lukáš Podolák & Lucie Nohlová