Technogym kicks off Middle East qualifiers for the world’s first treadmill championship

Technogym and World Athletics are kicking off local qualifications across the Middle East for RUN X, the first 5 km World Treadmill Championship. From end of October 2026 until mid-January 2027, runners of every level, from athletes and amateurs to beginners, can take part in the qualification phase at affiliated centers in their city, joining more than 500 fitness clubs participating across 50 countries.

Across the region, participating venues include:

• Dubai: SEVEN Wellness Club, Gray Dubai, SIRO Dubai, The Bay Health Club, RAISE Fitness & Wellness, GIGAFIT, Viya Fit Mina Seyahi, Pharaohs' Club, Snap Fitness Motor City, Anytime Fitness and Top Gym

• Abu Dhabi: The Bridge Hub, Etizan Fitness and UAE JJ Fitness (Al Falah and MBZ City)

• Al Ain: UAE JJ Fitness

• Riyadh: CORE Social Wellness Club

 Throughout the qualification phase, participants can measure their performance against fellow runners on an online leaderboard and follow their ranking in real time, both within their club and on a global scale. The results of the 5km trials will be certified by the treadmills connected to the Technogym Digital Ecosystem, and runners will also be able to train at home using connected Technogym equipment. In January 2027, qualified participants in each country will move on to the regional phase.

The final will take place at the Technogym Village, in the heart of the Wellness Valley in Cesena (Italy), on 20-21 March 2027. The top 10 athletes in the world, both overall and by age group in the male and female categories, will compete for the first world title in their category in an exciting and engaging event set to take running to a whole new level. On this occasion, RUN X will award a significant prize pool of $100,000.

In addition, World Athletics will award wild card entries to the respective Member Federations of the best overall male and female athletes to compete in the 5 km race at the 2027 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Yangzhou, China, taking place the weekend after the RUN X final.