The EuroHeroes half marathon road running season has entered its final quarter. After three out of four races, the battle for the overall title is tight in both the men's and women's categories.
In České Budějovice on 1 June, Sebastian Hendel claimed victory in the men’s race ahead of Italian Daniele D'Onofrio, while Ukrainian Maryna Nemchenko clocked the fastest time ever at the event by a European to win the women’s race.
Then in Olomouc (15 June), D'Onofrio returned and won his first EuroHeroes race. Hungarian Nóra Szabó once again showcased her excellent form and secured a win in the women's field.
Developing European talent
EuroHeroes, RunCzech project supported by European Athletics, aims to develop European running talent. Runners must run at least two of four EuroHeroes races, and the two best results count toward the standings. Points are given to runners according to the World Athletics scoring system which calculates points based on time.
After the first race in picturesque Karlovy Vary, EuroHeroes moved to the capital of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, and to Olomouc, the center of the Hana region which is part of the UNESCO heritage list.
Hendel showcased his exceptional running skills in the České Budějovice Half Marathon. Initially running in a pack of several men, he broke away before the 10km mark and maintained a solo lead. He completed the South Bohemian half marathon in 1:03:38.
"I'm thrilled that my winning streak in RunCzech races continues. I tried to break the time under one hour and three minutes. It was good at the tenth kilometre, but as time passed, it got worse, and my legs were hurting. It was a great experience; I enjoyed my first start in České Budějovice," added Hendel, who took an ideal step towards defending the title of EuroHeroes.
The second place in České Budějovice went to D'Onofrio and the third place was taken by Ukrainian Mykola Mevsha, who significantly improved his personal best and moved into the provisional EuroHeroes lead thanks to his performance in Karlovy Vary (18 May) where he was seventh.
In Olomouc, the Italians sought retribution. In the early stages, three runners formed at the front: Hendel, D'Onofrio, and, surprisingly, Valentin Witz from France. Throughout most of the race, Hendel set the pace, allowing D'Onofrio to take advantage and make a winning move a few kilometres before the finish line, winning with a time of 01:04:56.
Hendel finished second, and Witz achieved third place with his career-best result in EuroHeroes.
German and Ukrainian head standings
The German currently leads the EuroHeroes standings with 2036 points, but the Italian is just 25 off the lead. Mevsha completes the top three with 1953 points in the men’s standings.
For the women’s field in České Budějovice, the fastest woman was Nemchenko, who ran a substantial part of the race apart from the leading women's group.
"If I had run with another female competitor, it would have been easier; running alone is hard. I'm satisfied," Nemchenko assessed after the race. The Ukrainian surpassed the best European race time of Tereza Hrochova from 2022 by half a minute. Her compatriot Nataliya Semenovych finished second, while Moldova's Lilia Fisikovici finished third.
In Olomouc, the Ukrainian could not contain Nóra Szabó from Hungary and Tereza Hrochová. Szabó came from behind and took the lead in the race's later stages, winning at 01:12:44. The Czech finished 14 seconds behind, with Nemchenko completing the podium.
Nemchenko is now the leader of EuroHeroes women's rankings with 2162 points. The defending champion, Tereza Hrochová, is second, just 14 points back. The winner from Olomouc Nóra Szabó is currently third with 2134 points.
The final EuroHeroes race of the season takes place in Ústí nad Labem on September 22. To find out more about EuroHeroes, visit the project website.