Three days in southern Bohemia between glorious running, fried carp, free flowing beer, sightseeing and relaxing at the spa

In 2023, when I was about to leave for my first international CACE trip, I thought it may have been a mistake to sign up. I had just realised that CACE people were not just recreational runners but actual podium winners. As an end-of-the pack runner, arrived to the sport at almost 50, what was I going to do in such a group? But the trip was an absolute blast, I ran my first marathon with emotions running high, and I found many new friends among those amazing CACE runners.

Fast forward to this year, the international trip had already become an unmissable appointment in my calendar. A common feature of CACE trips is the perfect mixture – inspired probably by the EU principle of subsidiarity? –  between group-organised parts and parts left to the individual. Perfectly guided by the well-experimented organising team made of Stefan, Jesper and Stassi, we all had bought our travel to Prague on our own, but once we all converged in Prague, a centrally booked bus with a local driver picked us all up with perfect timing to bring us to the beautiful south bohemian countryside. All coordinated by our local correspondent, Czech CACE member Michaela whose help would prove essential during the trip.

Třeboň, our destination (luckily I have to write it and not pronounce it) turned out to be a lovely hamlet with colourful houses and a beautiful square, which happened to host not only our old-charm hotel but also the expo and the start of all races. The hotel was possibly the closest we ever stayed or will stay to a starting line – with many rooms looking directly on the part of the square where all the action was. And even better, it hosted a spa where many of us had fabulous post-race massages, saunas and jacuzzis.

When it comes to the races, the Třeboň Nature Marathon organisers had been sending very funny and slightly confusing emails displaying a deep Czech humour, and we weren’t sure what to expect. It turned out that the race was quite popular, with about 4000 total participants, and the organisation was very smooth. The pre-race pasta party was conveniently hosted directly in our hotel. Starting times were very relaxed, with the marathon starting first at 10.45, which allowed all of us to have breakfast at humanly acceptable times. Blessed by the perfect running temperature, we all got about our business, some with great calm (me), some fighting an injury, and some chasing a podium or a PR.

The President’s competitive spirit was satisfied by 3 CACE podiums: Claire, 1st woman in the marathon in her category, Angelo, 1st man in the half marathon in his category, and Sam, 3rd man in the 10k in his category.

The half marathon was the most popular distance with 16 CACE runners, followed by the marathon with 6 (Claire, Dominique, Roisin, Charlotte, Marie and Sebastian – who did an impressive PB of 2:51 and came 12th overall, even ehough he shortly lost his way). Non-runners Tom and Jill seemed to be everywhere along the path to cheer the runners, fly the CACE flag and take pictures. 

Race day was crowned by a wonderful Czech dinner (all on the same square) with all the 28 CACE participants happily celebrating their successes and enjoying that the running efforts were now behind us. Stassi did miracles organising the correct distribution of dishes to a quite boisterous crowd.

On Sunday, after the traditional morning shake-out run led by Bert, most of the group took a local bus for a day trip to Ceske Budejovice, capital city of South Bohemia.

The medieval city was until 1880 a German-speaking enclave, known as Budweiser.

The visit to the state-owned brewery was a study not only in the art of beer making but also in intellectual property law, given the long-standing court case that surrounds the use of the Budweiser name by American vs Czech brand holders (tldr; for the real thing, look for Budweiser Budvar on the label). 

The excursion was followed by another lovely group dinner in Třeboň, a dancing night-out and the traditional late-night drinks with the group crowded together in one of the hotel rooms.  

The cherry on the cake of the trip was a four-hour stop in Prague on a wonderfully sunny day. Johan shared his knowledge of local history and folklore before we all went exploring the city. Prague gifted us with more delicious Czech food, more beer, a little shopping, spectacular views from the hills behind the Castle – and for some of us, some final running to make it to the bus in time.

Sandra