If you are passionate about running circuits, this is the story of how I captured the Crown of Polish Half Marathons in 2026. Back in January, I shared that this was one of my primary goals for the year, and crossing that final finish line brought an incredible sense of closure to a demanding but deeply rewarding season.
The rules for the Crown are straightforward: finish at least five half-marathons from a curated list of 11 events within a single calendar year. The schedule is well-balanced, featuring four races in the spring, two in the summer, and five in the autumn, perfectly aligning with peak running seasons.
I opted for the major cities: Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław, Gdańsk, and Kraków. These are massive events, drawing between 12,000 and 25,000 runners each. The highlights of my journey? Running inside three of the top five Polish stadiums, including finishing inside the biggest arena in the country. As a side note I ran all the races wearing the same pair of shoes: Nike Vaporfly 4, the best running shoes I ever had.
Tips for Future Contenders
If you are planning to take on this challenge, here is what you need to know:
- Build a solid fitness base: You should be able to run 21.1 km comfortably without needing a massive recovery period, given the frequency of the races.
- Book early: Plan well in advance. Polish half-marathons are incredibly popular and typically sell out weeks before race day.
What Could Be Better: The Logistics
While the races themselves are fantastic, the circuit’s administration has some room to grow:
- Medal Delivery: Currently, you must provide a Polish postal box address to receive your Crown medal; they do not ship internationally. They absolutely need to offer international shipping for an extra fee. On a positive note, my medal did arrive just a few days after I finished my final race.
- Finish Line Presentations: It would be vastly better to receive the Crown medal right at the finish line of your final race, similar to the Super Halfs. Allowing runners to pre-register their completion and receive that hard-earned medal on the spot is far more rewarding than getting it in the mail.
- Result Tracking: Historically, you had to manually upload your race results to the Crown website. I hope they fully automate this soon. The Kraków Half Marathon is already leading the way, they included a checkbox during registration to link your result automatically to the Crown circuit.
A Surging Running Scene
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that running is experiencing a massive spike in popularity across Poland, and the Crown circuit confirms this surge. In 2025, there were 2,295 medal winners. This year, 3,396 people completed the circuit: a massive 44% increase in just one year!
To push myself further, I set a cumulative time goal: finish all five races (a total distance of 105.5 km) in under 10 hours. That required maintaining an average time of under 2 hours per race (a 5’42″/km pace). I’m proud to share that I achieved that goal, crossing the final finish line with a total time of 9:44:57 (averaging a 5’32”/km pace).
Polish Crown vs. Super Halfs
Having now completed both the Super Halfs and the Polish Crown, I can honestly say I enjoyed the Polish Crown more. The races are exceptionally well-organized, and the circuit is arguably more challenging because you must complete all your events within a single calendar year.
If you’ve finished the Super Halfs and are looking to take your racing to the next level, the Crown of Polish Half Marathons is absolutely the challenge you’re looking for.
You must be logged in to post a comment.