World Athletics has announced plans for a World Treadmill Championships to: "develop the virtual running scene", according to a report in the Daily Mail this week spotted by runABC writer and coach Alan Newman, who explored the subject of treadmill running in this 2022 runABC article...

The World Rowing Indoor Championships has been held annually since 2018 at distances from 500m to 2,000m. The championships typically see over 2,000 rowers from 50 nations competing. The UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, hosted on the MyWhoosh platform, has been held four times and culminates in an intense battle for the coveted rainbow jersey.

Could running adopt a similar format, perhaps with qualifying rounds leading to a grand final? World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon certainly thinks so, as he explained to the Daily Mail: “There are millions of people around the world that just go to the gym and run on the treadmill. We should create products for those people. We should have a Treadmill World Championships. You are an athlete if you go for a 30-minute run on a treadmill or if you win an Olympic gold medal in the 100m. It is all athletics.”

Lord Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, added his perspective: “You might have to watch this space, but ultimately, why not? We have to embrace and we have got to take our sport to where people are. That is crucial. Whether it is through virtual, whether it is through Esports, whether it is through treadmill, these are the things that we really want to explore.”

World Athletics' ambition to grow the sport and to embrace the gym and home-based runners has to be applauded but will a World Treadmill Championships attract a wider base?

This is not entirely new news because the International Olympic Committee's view was sought last year and IOC sports director Kit McConnell said: "Where there is a full physical replication of the traditional sport, the door is open."

There is no doubt running on a treadmill is running and races can be arranged over set distances so performances can be compared worldwide. But this particular writer and coach has reservations over the costs and access to the necessary equipment, which must be professionally calibrated to ensure an even playing field. And there's something soulless about pounding kilometres on a moving belt indoors when you could be outside facing Storm Bert in all his fury!

What do you think?

Photo courtesy of Ryan De Hamer on Unsplash