The first indoor running competition, involving athletes, amateurs, and beginners in fitness centers around the world, to define a new e-sports discipline
CESENA, Italy, June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Technogym - the world leader in wellness, athletic training, health, and official supplier for the last 10 Olympic Games - and World Athletics - the International Federation governing the No. 1 Olympic sport - announce the RUN X program, the first world championship for running on connected treadmills over a distance of 5 km.
The RUN X World Treadmill Championship is born from the shared vision of Technogym and World Athletics to leverage the popularity of running to make it accessible to everyone in complete safety and comfort, without time or weather constraints, by bringing running communities into fitness clubs. Running is the most practiced sport in the world, but in recent years the way people experience it has profoundly changed: no longer just individual performance, but experience, belonging, well-being, data, and connection. RUN X embodies these values with the goal of making running an inclusive, engaging, and ongoing experience for runners of all levels worldwide.
Starting today, fitness and wellness clubs, universities, corporate facilities, and hotels can "affiliate" by joining the network of official centers where the first World Championship of treadmill running will be held. From October 2026, runners from all over the world will be able to compete in the qualification phase within the local affiliated centers; they will also be able to train at home thanks to the equipment connected to the Technogym digital ecosystem.
RUN X will offer runners the opportunity to measure themselves against the performance of other participants, on an online leaderboard, monitoring the ranking in real-time both within their club and on a global scale. The results of the 5 km trials will be certified by the treadmills connected to the Technogym Digital Ecosystem.
Starting in January 2027, qualified users in each country will participate in the regional phase.
The final will be held at the Technogym Village, in the heart of the Wellness Valley in Cesena (Italy), on 20-21 March 2027. The 10 best athletes in the world, both overall and by age group in the male and female categories, will compete for the first world title in their category in an exciting and engaging event that will take running to a whole new level. On this occasion, RUN XTM will award a significant prize pool of $100,000. Furthermore, World Athletics will award wild card entries to the respective Member Federations of the best overall male and female athlete to compete in the 5 km race at the 2027 World Athletics Road Running Championships that take place in Yangzhou, China, the weekend after the RUN X final.
For industry operators, RUN X represents a great opportunity to attract new members and increase the retention of existing ones. As Official RUN XTM Centers, facilities gain exclusive access to the entire format, which includes competition software, certified rankings, merchandising, marketing support and social media content. Fitness and wellness centers will not just host an event, they will join a global movement and will become the reference point for local running communities.
For more information: www.runx.org - Instagram @runxrace
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