Technogym and World Athletics have opened registrations for official RUN X™ centers around the world, marking the first step towards a new global 5km competition and the first World Track Championships in 2027.
Gyms and fitness facilities around the world can now sign up to join the RUN X™ network as Technogym and World Athletics confirm further details of the first World Track Championships.
The announcement was made on World Running Day, Wednesday 3 June, at the launch of the RUN X™ program at the Technogym Village in Cesena, Italy.
RUN X™, a new global 5km running competition, will allow runners of all skill levels to compete on connected tracks in affiliated centers around the world, with performances displayed on online leaderboards locally and globally.
Technogym and World Athletics have developed RUN X™ to create a new connected competition format for runners around the world.
Starting today (June 3), fitness and health clubs, universities, corporate facilities and hotels can join RUN X™, joining the network of official centers that will host the inaugural championship qualifiers.
From October 2026, runners from all over the world will be able to compete in the qualifying round at their local affiliate centres. They will also be able to train at home using equipment connected to the Technogym Digital Ecosystem.
RUN X™ will enable participants to compare their performances with other runners via online leaderboards, monitoring their ranking in real-time at their club and around the world. The results of the 5km trials will be certified by treadmills connected to the Technogym Digital Ecosystem.
From January 2027, qualified runners in each country will advance to a regional round.
The final will be held at the Technogym Village in the heart of the Wellness Valley in Cesena, Italy, on March 20-21, 2027. The leading men and women, overall and by age group, will compete for the first world track title.
RUN X™ will award a $100,000 prize pool. World Athletics will also award wild card entries to the respective Member Federations, the best overall male and female athletes, to compete in the 5km race at the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Yangzhou, China, the weekend after the RUN X™ Finals.
The RUN X™ World Track Championships was born from a shared vision between Technogym and World Athletics to leverage the global popularity of running to create an accessible, inclusive and connected format. It’s designed to bring running communities into fitness and wellness centers while removing barriers related to location, weather or time of day.
Speaking at the launch of the RUN X™ program in Cesena, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “Our shared vision for RUN X™ is to bring more runners into the athletics family, create a fresh global community and usher in a new kind of world championship in our sport, focused on indoor track running.
“This type of innovative partnership between World Athletics and Technogym is vital to the continued growth of athletics. We operate in a world where competition for people’s attention has never been more intense, so if we want to continue to grow and become more commercially successful, we need to embrace change and innovation, including in the world of running.”
“We are very proud of this partnership with World Athletics, which will define a new sports discipline and bring running, one of the world’s most popular sports, to fitness and health clubs,” added Technogym President Nerio Alessandri. “RUN X™ will connect millions of runners with our partner fitness centers around the world, while our exclusive Technogym ecosystem will serve as the driving force behind this new competition.”
For Affiliate Centers, RUN X™ provides access to the competition format, software, certified ratings, merchandising, marketing support and social media content. Facilities joining the network will be able to host official RUN X™ activities, engage existing members, attract new participants and become part of the global running community.
For more information visit runx.org.
