You will never get a better opportunity to race against the world 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier (France) and you won't have to travel further than your local health club! Technogym has joined forces with World Athletics to present the first-ever World Treadmill Championships, styled as RUN X, which will be held next year over the 5K distance familiar to us through parkrun.   

The competition will enable casual and club runners to test themselves against elite athletes around the world at thousands of qualifying events during the first part of 2026, before a grand final to be held at a yet-to-be-announced venue late in the year.

“The challenge for me has always been how to make our sport more accessible and exciting, using the technology that we have available today. We have a responsibility to democratise our sport and to get people to realise that when they’re on their treadmill in RUN X, they are part of the World Athletics family”, said the World Athletics President Seb Coe at the launch event in Milan last month. 

There are around 50,000 Technogym clubs in more than 120 countries, with Technogym treadmills used in gyms like Bannatyne and The Village in the UK. Technogym has been an official supplier to the Olympics for nine consecutive Games. 

runABC resident coach, Alan Newman, has been monitoring this project for a while now and had some reservations about costs, accessibility, and consistency of the equipment when the idea of a global treadmill challenge was first mooted 12 months ago. Coach Alan also reviewed some of the benefits of treadmill running for a Runtalk article in 2022.   

The RUN X process begins with fitness centres affiliating themselves with the event. This will be followed by runners registering. There will be a wave of preliminary qualifiers, followed by regional qualifiers, with the top 10 men and top 10 women going on to the World Treadmill Championships Final at what organisers have described as a “secret and iconic venue”.

With Jimmy Gressier attending the launch, it seems likely he will be part of the competition. Many elite distance runners train on treadmills, especially during the harsh winter months, but it remains to be seen how many will embrace this new competition. However, there is a major incentive: $100,000 in prize money and wild-card entry to the World Road Running 5K Championships.

World Athletics added: "This groundbreaking 5K competition is set to shake up the concept of running, breaking geographical barriers, and making a global athletics championship accessible in sports and fitness centres worldwide."

To learn more and to register for updates, visit the Technogym RUN X website here

Photo courtesy of  RUN X/Technogym