The Czech Center Museum Houston invites you to participate in our first annual CCMH Bike / Run Challenge to celebrate the upcoming Czech Independence Day.
Cycle 19.18 km (12 miles) or run 11.17 km (7 miles) anytime during the challenge period from September 28 to October 28, 2023. Organize a ride with friends or cycle/run by yourself during the challenge period and share a photo from the activity with us. Pose with a Czech or Slovak symbol in the photo: a Czech flag, or perhaps a CCMH t-shirt — you decide! Please email photo submissions with a brief caption to social@czechcenter.org, or share the image on Facebook or Instagram and tag us @czechcentermusuemhouston and also @czechembassydc, using the hashtag #czechembassybikechallenge
Prizes
Those who submit photos within the timeframe will be entered to win one CCMH Family Membership. The Embassy will award the best photo submission with a special gift bag. More info
event details:
WHEN: Anytime from September 28 to October 28, 2023
WHERE: Anywhere in the US
Why 19.18 km?
The year 1918 brought independence to the Czech people. That year, future President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and sitting US President Woodrow Wilson shared a friendship and vision that forever changed the map of Europe with the creation of a sovereign, democratic state on October 28. The CCMH Bike/Run Challenge honors the historic year of independence via its 19.18 km trail and challenges all to seek out Czech connections in the United States!
Why 11.17 km?
On November 17, 1939, Nazi forces stormed Czech Universities including Charles University in Prague after organized demonstrations following the killings of student Jan Opletal and worker Václav Sedláček. Nine Czech students and professors were executed on the 17th, and 1,200 were sent to concentration camps.
In 1948, communists seized control of the country in a coup d’état, and it became the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic for the next 40 years. Student demonstrations in Prague and elsewhere on November 17, 1989, sparked the Velvet Revolution and the end of the Soviet era in Czechoslovakia.
Now, November 17 is a national holiday in both the Czech and Slovak Republics known as Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day. It commemorates two student demonstrations that bookend 50 years that Czechoslovakia spent (mostly) under the rule of foreign powers.
disclaimer
By participating, you are acknowledging that you are going to take part in the Czech Center Museum Houston Bike/Run Challenge (“Challenge“) at your own risk. The Challenge does not constitute an official race. It is imperative that all Challenge participants obey all existing laws and regulations as well as friendly cyclist manners.
Conducting activities outside of your home poses an inherent risk. You and any family members and guests voluntarily assume all risks related to the Challenge and agree not to hold the Czech Center Museum Houston or any of their directors, staff, contractors, affiliates, employees, agents, or volunteers liable for any illness, injury, or death.
Czech Center Museum Houston would like to thank Diana Austin, Rev. Paul Chovanec, James Ermis, Adelma Graham, Sharon Schweitzer J.D., Valerie Sheppard, William and Marie Vavrik, and donors who wish to remain anonymous for generously supporting our Czech Heritage Month programs.