IAAF World Road Running Championships - logo (© c)
MonteCarloThe University city of Debrecen, which is situated some 230km east of the Hungarian capital Budapest, will play host to the inaugural IAAF World Road Running Championships on Sunday 8 October 2006.
The entry list is headlined by the participation of the 2002 and 2005 World Half Marathon champions, with winners of both the men’s and women’s races taking home an individual prize of US$30,000.
The first edition of the IAAF World Road Running Championships, which will be run this year over the 20km distance around a 5km loop course on the city’s streets, replaces the former World Half Marathon Championships which have been contested since 1992, when 36 nations competed in Tyneside, England.
The Entry Deadline passed at midnight on Monday 25 September, and 45 Member Federations comprising a total of 180 runners are set to contest the men’s and women’s races in just over a week's time.
Last year’s winner of the World Half Marathon in Edmonton, Canada, Constantina Tomescu of Romania, returns at the head of the women’s line-up, along with 2002 champion Berhane Adere of Ethiopia, who was also the 2003 World 10,000m track champion.
Also toeing the start will be World 3000m Steeplechase champion Dorcus Inzikuru of Uganda, three-time World Cross Country short course gold medallist, Edith Masai of Kenya, and 2001 World Marathon champion Lidia Simon (ROM).
Heading the entrants in the men’s 20km is Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadesse, the Olympic Games 10,000m bronze medallist, who won the Rotterdam Half Marathon on 10 September in 59:16, the fourth fastest ever run for the distance. On the way to that clocking Tadesse, last year’s World Cross Country Championship long course silver medallist, produced a 20km split of 56:17, the third fastest-time ever recorded.
There is also a men's World champion entered too, in fact a double gold medallist. 2003 / 2005 World Marathon champion Jaouad Gharib who took silver at the World Half Marathon in 2002 is in the Moroccan team.
A purse of US$245,000 in Prize Money is on offer by IAAF to the top six individuals and teams finishing in both the men’s and women’s races in Debrecen, Hungary. The Team scoring will be decided on the basis of the lowest aggregate of times recorded by the first three athletes in each team.
All amounts in US Dollars
Individual - 1st 30,000; 2nd 15,000; 3rd 10,000; 4th 7000; 5th 5000; 6th 3000.
Teams - 1st 15,000; 2nd 12,000; 3rd 9000; 4th 7500; 5th 6000; 6th 3000.
Chris Turner for the IAAF
