"Athletics fans will have the opportunity to see the world’s best milers, 5km runners and half-marathoners compete in a single day at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23 under the revamped schedule announced today," said a release outlining the change.
"World Athletics and the Riga Local Organising Committee (LOC) have agreed to introduce a more compact program, 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 that is supposed to "create a more exciting build up for fans", all events will now happen on one day.
However, September 30 will still be a special 'Kids' Day' for families.
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 Rīga, 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.
The day is expected to feature thousands of amateur runners, kids and families from up to 100 countries participating alongside elite runners.
Aigars Nords, Head of the Local Organising Committee, said: “Saturday, September 30, will see thousands of kids and families warm up the Championships during Kids’ Day, while Sunday, October 1, will provide a unique opportunity for everyone to earn their mass race medals not only in the road mile, 5km, and half marathon, but also in the half marathon relay, a new mass race, aimed at recreational runners not yet ready for the challenges of a half marathon.”
It is still possible to register as a participant at the official website of the event.
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 medal from the World Athletics Road Running Championships.
Riga 23 updated schedule
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)
