Kraków Half Marathon
15 - 30 €
Pros
- The location
- Amazing organization
- Value for money
Cons
- Some parts of the course
- Distance from the center
| Year of 1st Edition: | 2014 |
| World Athletics Label Road Race: | No |
| Expected participants: | 7000 (21K) |
| Distances: | 21K, 5K |
| Type of race: | Fast, road |
| Time limit: | 3h (21K), 40' (5K) |
Krakow half marathon has been a very beautiful surprise: Krakow overdelivered this time! I decided to run this race because I haven’t so far run in Poland, and I have visited this beautiful city in the Southern part of the country, being fascinated by it. I was expecting a good race, I found a great one.
The booking process
The access to the website is quite user friendly. You will have the possibility to chose to have the T-shirt included or not in the race pack, having therefore two prices. The difference was only in the range of 7-8 €, so I opted for having the T-shirt. I have many, but it is always a nice souvenir. Plus the one they delivered in 2022 was a good quality one, from the sponsor Asics.
The information you need are there, and there is a runner’s guide available (updated before the race) with lots of useful info.
The organization
The expo is located close to the starting and finish point, the beautiful Tauron arena. Therefore, if you will stay in the city (which I recommend), you will need to get there by public transport. This is not an issue, the arena is well connected and – at least in 2022 – the runners had free access to the public transport on race day.
The expo was very well organised (no queuing) and the amount of stands, and the quality, was higher than anticipated. On race day, everything worked fine. The amount of bathrooms was so high I could not see any line to access them (impressive, right?). Also access to the changing rooms of the arena was allowed, so if you needed a shower afterwards it was easy. Easy also the access to the starting lines (Bib numbers colored differently based on expected finish time. There are pacers, in the 2022 edition covering the following times: 1:25, and every 10 minutes from 1:30 to 2:10.
The course
The course starts at the Tauron arena, and ends in. This is already an interesting element: starting from the end, you will finish inside the iconic sport center, open to whoever wants to cheer the heroes of the 21K, and with music, strobo lights and animation.
The predominately flat and fast course makes it ideal for beginners and elites.
A view during the race
The race departs from the Tauron arena and develops along the Wisla river from west to east. The way back to the sport center allows the runners to pass inside the pictoresque city center, the Stare Miasto district with the beautiful Rinek square. The northern side of the river will lead the runners inside the Tauron arena for the finisher’s party!
Personal impressions
Finish at Tauron arena
Conclusions
A beautiful race in a beautiful city, with a good airport with many connections and low budget options. I definitely recommend this race!
Did you like this review of Kraków Half Marathon? Please contact me for any question or if you find info to be rectified!
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