LUCAN SET FOR US DEBUT AT MASTERCARD NEW YORK MINI 10-K – runblogrun

LUCAN SET FOR US DEBUT AT MASTERCARD NEW YORK MINI 10-K
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission.

NEW YORK (05-Jun) – To talk to Clara Lucan is to feel unfulfilled.

The 25-year-old Slovenian from Šenjerej is already a two-time Olympian, European 10,000m road record holder, reigning World University Games 10,000m champion (and Games record holder), 2025 European Road Championships bronze medalist and 9th European Half Marathon bronze medalist.

But there is much more. The Puma-sponsored athlete has a master’s degree in international business, is a police officer in Slovenia (who helps support her track and field career), and works 20 hours a week at a software company in her spare time.

“I currently work in the police force as a professional athlete,” Lucan told Race Results Weekly in a sit-down interview at a midtown hotel this morning. “As a part-time job, I work as a project manager in a Norwegian software company. It’s perfect for me because I can combine it with athletics as well. It’s 100% remote online, so I can work from anywhere in the world.”

That’s good because Lucan is walking around. She was in England last weekend, where she won the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run 10-K in 30:58, and she flew directly here Saturday for the 54th Mastercard New York Mini 10-K, the world’s original all-women’s road race, founded in 1972. About 10.50 women are expected to participate in the run. Road runners. This is Lucan’s first trip to the United States.

“I heard it has a special tradition,” Lucan said. “It’s for elite athletes, and I hear it’s really popular here in the States. In addition, they invite many world-class athletes to come here. I’m very excited to be here, competing against the best women tomorrow.”

Indeed, the Mini has a truly superior field. Led by a trio of top Kenyans, 10-K world record holder Agnes Ngetich, reigning TCS New York Marathon champion Helen Obiri and reigning Boston Marathon champion Sharon Lockedin-Lucan will compete against ten women who have run 31:30 or better on the road. Lucan is the second fastest athlete in the field with his European record of 29:51 set in Laredo, Spain on April 18.

“It was a surreal feeling,” Lucan said of setting that record. “Actually, it wasn’t a surprise. “I had this idea in my mind for quite some time before the race. My goal was not to break the regional record (30:07), but to become the first European woman under 30 minutes.”

Can he win the Mini? The last European to win the race was Dutchman Hilda Kibet in 2008.

“That would be a really cool thing,” Lucan said. “To even be part of an elite field and then win the race would be really special.”

Such an accomplishment would have seemed impossible for Lucan just three years ago, when his road 10-K personal best was a modest 33:03. But working with her coach Tej Korent, the man who told the former 800m runner that long distances were her calling, she has steadily developed into a long-distance runner. Corrent, who Lucan has been working with since 2017, has gradually increased his training to around 130km per week (peak weeks 150km), which is still modest for an athlete who has run 1:06:43 for the half marathon.

“The first time he told me that if you keep working, you’ll become a cross-country runner,” Lucan recalled. “Because he saw, based on my running ability and my running stride, that I was better suited for longer distances. It was an organic transition.”

Lucan did not run a 3000m race until he was 18, or a 5000m race until he was 19. It was the summer of 2019, before the global COVID pandemic took hold, and Lucan, in just his second race at the distance, won the European Under-20 title in the 5000m (he beat Italy’s 6th Olympic winner in his second Olympics). He did his first road 10-K in Ljubljana and ran 33:23, and immediately fell in love with road running.

“I think I was born a road runner,” Lucan explained. “Because my coach tells me that my running stride is much more efficient on the roads than on the track. Apparently I have a technique that is better suited for road running. Also, I find that my recovery is much faster than after the treadmill. It’s definitely probably because of the carbon shoes.”

Lucan also admitted that road racing is a lot more fun.

“You know, road running in general is a lot more fun for me, especially when I’m doing those long runs like a 10-K. For me, it’s a different world than a 10-K track (where) you have so many laps and it’s so repetitive. The atmosphere is just different on the roads.

Lucan will need to use his best racing instincts to perform well tomorrow. There are no pacemakers, and the Central Park course has some significant hills (the run has used a few different courses over the years – tomorrow’s course is slightly downhill, so it’s not record-breaking). He didn’t reveal his race plans, but said he has full confidence in his coach.

“I really believe that there is no such thing as a perfect coach, but if you find the perfect coach for you, it’s basically a fairy tale,” Lucan said. “I believe in my work, that’s how it is. What you really need is someone who believes in you and whom you trust. It’s a really close relationship because you work with that person every day. You have to communicate, collaborate, and I believe I have a perfect synergy with my coach.

Looking ahead, Lucan plans to compete in the 10,000m European Championships in Birmingham before returning to the roads. He has his sights set on the marathon, at least eventually.

“When I was 12 years old, my previous coach told me that you would be a long-distance marathon runner if you continued in the senior category,” Lucan said. “Also, my current coach said I was going to finish the marathon. I also agree with that because I feel my strength is endurance. I can really keep up the tempo for a long time. I think the marathon is the perfect distance for that. I don’t really hit hard on the bottom end. I think if we push the pace, I can last a long time.”