World

The pre-event press conference for the World Road Running Championships Copenhagen 26 (© World Athletics Anne-Gaelle Sy)

The world’s best road runners will share the streets with thousands of recreational athletes this weekend as Copenhagen hosts what World Athletics President Sebastian Coe described as an “extraordinary demonstration of humanity in running”.

Six world titles will be decided across the road mile, 5km and half marathon at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Copenhagen 26, with the elite races forming part of a two-day festival of running in the Danish capital.

Speaking at the pre-event press conference on Friday (18), Coe highlighted participation as one of the key pillars of World Athletics and praised Copenhagen for embracing a format that brings together runners of all levels.

“This weekend is an extraordinary demonstration of humanity in running,” said Coe. “I’m so pleased that participation, which is one of our core pillars at World Athletics, is being demonstrated so clearly on the streets of Copenhagen this week.”

It is a concept with which Copenhagen is already familiar. The city hosted the World Half Marathon Championships in 2014, an edition that helped pioneer the model of staging mass participation races alongside an elite global championship.

Christopher Røhl, Mayor of Culture, Leisure and Citizen Services for the City of Copenhagen, believes the return of a global road running championship provides an opportunity to build on that legacy.

“Copenhagen has shown that world-class sport and mass participation belong together,” he said.

“Whether you are running your first mile, your first 5km, or you are competing for a world title, you are all part of the same event. This is the kind of running community that we want to strengthen here in Copenhagen.”

Few athletes on the start line will understand that community better than Denmark’s Jacob Sommer Simonsen, winner of the Copenhagen Half Marathon in 2023.

The Danish champion has watched the popularity of the sport grow rapidly in his home city and is looking forward to experiencing the championships from the sharp end.

“It’s crazy to see how running, and especially road running, is blooming and exploding here in Denmark, and especially in Copenhagen,” he said. “It’s wonderful to be part of a time when running is so popular, so I’m just trying to soak it all in.”

While thousands will be taking to Copenhagen’s streets for their own personal challenges, the battle for the six world titles promises to be fierce.

Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Yared Nuguse arrives for the road mile just days after racing at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest. The US middle-distance star will bring his season to a close in Copenhagen and believes he is ready to end it on a high.

“I’m in the fitness of my life right now,” said Nuguse. “Based on how I’ve been doing, I know I’m very ready to just hammer out a really good race.”

Whatever the outcome, Nuguse says his enthusiasm for racing remains as strong as ever.

“Running is going to bring me joy regardless of the result,” he added. “Especially here in Copenhagen, on the road, this being my last race of the season, I’m just really excited to see what I can do.”

France’s Agathe Guillemot will also contest the road mile at the end of a season that has taken her from cross country to indoor and outdoor track, the Ultimate Championship and now the roads.

The world cross-country mixed relay silver medallist said she was relishing the opportunity to finish her long campaign as part of such a large running festival and is targeting the podium before finally taking a break.

“I can’t wait to compete tomorrow,” said the European indoor 1500m champion. “Finishing the season with this kind of event makes me really happy because I have this amazing opportunity to share my final race with 60,000 people. I’m hoping to leave with a medal.”

For Agnes Ngetich, Copenhagen offers the possibility of completing a remarkable trio of victories across three different surfaces.

The Kenyan started her year by winning the senior women’s title at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, before producing a dominant world-leading 3000m victory at the Monaco Diamond League. Now the world 10km record-holder turns her attention to the half marathon.

“That would be the dream, to win here,” said Ngetich. “We have a big line-up and, of course, everyone wants the title, but it would be my dream to win here. If I have a medal, it will be a nice way to close the season.”

European 10,000m champion Andreas Almgren is taking a different approach. After a track season highlighted by his first senior continental title, the Swede has deliberately turned towards the roads in search of a fresh challenge.

“I focused so much on the European Championships this year, so I wanted to do something completely different to feel very motivated again,” he said.

“This is the first stop of a very exciting autumn, so I’m really excited to go out there and road race again.”

For Coe, that combination of world-class competition, innovation and participation reflects what the World Road Running Championships were designed to achieve.

“We are, as an international federation, always out there trying to do things differently,” he said.

“This is really important for us. Innovation comes because you have the bravery to set out to do something differently that nobody else has done before, the resilience not to get deterred, and the focus to really execute. And that is what this weekend is all about.”