New one-day schedule for World Road Running Championships in Riga

World Athletics and the Riga Local Organising Committee (LOC) have agreed to introduce a more compact programme, which will see the elite races and mass races held on the same day, October 1, at the championships.

The inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships was originally envisioned as a two-day event, with the new road mile and 5km road championships to be held on Saturday, September 30 and the half marathon races on Sunday, October 1 but in a move to create a more exciting build up for fans, all events have been brought together with the mass races on one day.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said: “As preparations for the World Road Running Championships have evolved it has become apparent that the event will work better as a single-day event in Riga, both for local organisers and for broadcast. It will also give recreational runners the opportunity to be fully immersed in the day, running before and after our elite runners, and will create the festival atmosphere that we want to see to celebrate road running at every level.”

The new timetable begins on the morning of October 1 with the mass races over 5km and the road mile to be followed by the elite races over the same distances. Then attention will turn to the half marathon distance with the elite races to be followed by the mass race.

Any recreational runner who is ready for a challenge can register for any of the official mass races of the World Championships in Riga and earn a unique medal from the World Athletics Road Running Championships.

Saturday 30 September 2023

• 10:00 – 15:00 Kids’ Day

Sunday 1 October 2023

• 10:00 Mass Race | 5km
• 11:30 Mass Race | Road Mile
• 11:50 Women | 5km
• 12:15 Men | 5km
• 13:00 Women | Road Mile
• 13:10 Men | Road Mile
• 13:30 Women | Half Marathon
• 14:15 Men + Mass Race | Half Marathon
• 14:15 Mass Race | Half Marathon Relay (10,5km + 10,5km)