The inaugural event in Brussels and Leuven takes place on April 12-13 next year with club runners rubbing shoulders with elites
There are now less than six months to go before the European Running Championships takes place in Brussels and Leuven in Belgium.
For the first time the European Championships is open to all, too, with ordinary runners able to race alongside the elites.
There are also a variety of distances – 10km, half-marathon and the full marathon – and already 15,000 runners have signed up for the event.
The marathon starts at the Royal Palace in Brussels and follows a scenic course through to Leuven. The half marathon and 10km set off from Leuven and cross the city and wider surroundings.
Uniquely, the net finish time of the top 25 runners per country, including elites, will be added up and this will form the basis for the country ranking per competition and gender. The country with the lowest aggregate time in each race and gender category are declared winners.
European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov says: “The European Running Championships symbolises my vision of a sport that really is for everyone. Young and old, male and female, fast and slow, big and small, elite and amateur will all compete together and simultaneously in mass marathon, half marathon and 10km races, with global and national ranking places on offer.
“For too long, athletics has been seen as a rarefied activity, the preserve of only the super-fit and the super-gifted. All children, and a growing number of adults across our continent, take part in athletics, in the form of recreational running, every day. Yet many of them do not think of themselves as athletes. I am determined to bridge this gap.”
Register for the event here.
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