Mattoni Running Festival České Budějovice 2026

We’ll be straight with you: if you don’t know the Mattoni Running Festival České Budějovice yet, it’s probably the most beautiful race you could do 🤩. An old medieval town, a grand Baroque square, 13th-century alleys, the Vltava River shimmering, and a start gun that goes off just as the evening light begins to play on golden façades 🏘️. If someone had described that to you on paper, you’d have thought it was a movie set. And yet it’s real, and it takes place in May in South Bohemia, 123 km (yes, precision matters) south of Prague 📍.

České Budějovice (pronounce it however you can, the locals won’t hold it against you 😄) is a city founded in 1265, with a historic centre so well preserved it feels like the Middle Ages just took a short break. Přemysl Ottokar II Square., the central square you start from, is the second-largest square in the whole of the Czech Republic. It’s lined with arcades and Baroque bourgeois houses, with the town hall as a backdrop. That’s where the starting signal rings out 🔈. And honestly, if you don’t smile in your starting corral while looking at that setting, check your pulse 🏛️.

What makes this race truly unique is its night-time format. The half marathon starts in the early evening, which means you run in the warm light at the end of the day, with monuments gradually lighting up around you as the kilometres go by 🌇. The Vltava and Malše rivers meet in the city — you’ll run along their banks, cross their bridges, and weave through alleys that haven’t changed in centuries. And all the while, one thing is certain: you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this race sooner. And it’s not just about the half marathon. The festival starts in the afternoon with a 5 km to loosen up the legs, followed by a Family Mile (1.609 km) to run as a family, and a Bambini Run for kids over distances of 100 to 200 metres, because those adorable chaos scenes of children running are an integral part of the show 🌱. And late in the afternoon, everyone heads off: the half marathon, the relay half marathon as a team over 4 segments to run with friends, and the 2Run 10+11 km, the format that lets you run 21 km in two parts without the pressure of continuous distance. There really is something for everyone, from 4-year-old legs to legs chasing the best time of their life ⏱️.

The course, besides being beautiful, is flat and certified. It’s no coincidence that the records are held by Kenyans Wilfried Kimitei in 1:00:54 and Yvonne Jelaga in 1:08:19 🔥. The route is designed for strong legs, and strong legs regularly do great things there. So if you’re aiming for a personal record, you’re exactly in the right place. And if you’re running just for fun, the setting gives you the perfect excuse to look up from time to time and enjoy the scenery 🏰. All along the course, the Mattoni Music Festival sets up stages with live bands to keep your energy up 🎶. It’s not simply a race; it’s a whole evening in a city in celebration, where spectators come out onto the sidewalks, where the old town comes alive, where you find yourself running through something that feels a lot like a waking dream 🤩. The race is human-sized: no traffic jam at km 1 for ten minutes. Just a great race, well organised, in one of the most beautiful settings on the RunCzech 🇨🇿 circuit, which ranks among the most renowned running organisations in Central Europe 🏅.

Because a weekend in České Budějovice deserves lingering, South Bohemia also delivers on the food front 🍖. The must-try dish is svíčková, a braised beef tenderloin with a cream sauce, fluffy knedlíky dumplings and lingonberry jam. Disconcerting at first glance, irresistible at the first bite 🫦. You’ll also come across crispy potato pancakes (bramboráky), local carp raised in the region’s ponds since the Middle Ages, and trdelník, those spit-roasted rolled cakes caramelised with cinnamon that you always regret not ordering double 🥐. For getaways, two stops are a must. Hluboká nad Vltavou Castle 10 km away, a white neo-Gothic building perched above the Vltava, the most romantic in the Czech Republic 🏰. And Český Krumlov 22 km away, listed as a UNESCO site, with its medieval lanes encircled by a river meander and a breathtaking castle 🏰. To round off the weekend properly, the Budvar brewery offers guided tours that end with a cellar tasting (note: alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health; consume in moderation!) 🍺. Objectively, the best possible plan for a Sunday after a half marathon run the day before 🍻.

So, shall we meet at the finish line? 🏁