<p><strong>European Athletics is delighted to announce that the first ever edition of the European Running Championships will take place in Leuven and Brussels on 12-13 April 2025, with the masses joining the elites for a festival of running on the streets of Belgium.</strong></p>
<p>The inaugural edition will see road races take centre stage at a standalone European Championships, featuring three races over two days: 10K, half marathon and marathon. Europe&rsquo;s top distance runners will race alongside the masses, bringing the stars of the sport and their fans closer than ever before.</p>
<p>The marathon course will run from Brussels to Leuven, starting in the heart of the Belgian capital before reaching the finish in the historic heart of Leuven.</p>
<p>The European marathon champion had previously been crowned at the European Championships, but now the classic distance, and its finest exponents, will take the spotlight at their very own festival of running, with medals awarded for individual and team honours at all three distances. Mass-race participants can also compete for medals in brand-new &lsquo;country ranking&rsquo; competition.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The European Running Championships symbolises my vision of a sport that really is for everyone,&rdquo; said European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov. &ldquo;Young and old, male and female, fast and slow, big and small, elite and amateur will all compete together and simultaneously in mass marathon, half marathon and 10km races, with global and national ranking places on offer.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Karamarinov added: &ldquo;For too long, athletics has been seen as a rarefied activity, the preserve of only the super-fit and the super-gifted. All children, and a growing number of adults across our continent, take part in athletics, in the form of recreational running, every day. Yet many of them do not think of themselves as athletes. I am determined to bridge this gap.&rdquo;</p>
<p>European Athletics CEO Christian Milz said: "This will be a unique championships as every runner will be an athlete and every athlete can be a champion. It gives everyone in our sport the chance to experience that unique championships feeling. Welcome to the European Running Championships.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

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Pre-register now for the first European Running Championships in 2025

<p dir="ltr"><strong>European Athletics has teamed up with American-based events solution company <em>haku</em> to power the 2025 and 2027 European Running Championships, the newest event on the European Athletics calendar of major championships.</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Haku will act as the race registration and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) technology partner for the inaugural edition which takes place in Brussels-Leuven, Belgium on 12-13 April 2025.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Not only will Europe&rsquo;s leading distance runners contest for medals across three distances, the European Running Championships will also open its doors to thousands of non-elite runners to register via haku to each of the three championship races: the marathon, half marathon and 10km.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In an effort to deliver an unmatched championship experience for all participants, European Athletics has handpicked haku to power the championships thanks to their dynamic technology ecosystem, unrivalled service and support as well as a clear and proven track record of delivering exceptional results for globally renowned brands and world class events.</p>
<p dir="ltr">European Athletics&rsquo; Running Unit director, Marko Vasic said: &ldquo;With the ambition to be runner-friendly and technology savvy, we at European Athletics strive to have the best runner&rsquo;s digital experience at the first-ever European Running Championships.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;With haku solutions, runners will be able to engage with European Athletics and the European running community on their road to the Championships as well as their amazing race day experience. With haku, we will treat every runner as an athlete and every athlete as a champion. Welcome to the European Running Championships - it's about the championship feeling, and for everyone.&rdquo;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jackie Levi, co-founder and CSO at haku, said: "We are thrilled and deeply honoured to be selected by European Athletics as we support the European Running Championship event and other tech needs for the Running Strategy of European Athletics.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;In an ever-evolving world, event organisers demand technology solutions that are not only adaptable and cost-effective but also contribute to measurable revenue growth &ndash; and that's precisely what we offer to our esteemed partners. We eagerly anticipate bringing these transformative benefits to European Athletics and the inaugural European Running Championship.&rdquo;</p>
<p dir="ltr">This partnership between European Athletics and haku represents an exciting development in athletics event technology in Europe.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/71d5e401-fcc4-4850-a266-8d41db909eeb?width=1390&amp;height=432" alt="Ver2 Color"></p>

European Athletics joins forces with haku for the 2025 and 2027 European Running Championships

News

Team & Media Information

European Running Championships

<p dir="ltr"><strong>Amanal Petros highlighted the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday (24) morning from both a domestic and European viewpoint by smashing his German record.</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">In a race won by Eliud Kipchoge for a fifth time in 2:02:42, Petros finished ninth in 2:04:58 to shave more than one minute from his previous national record of 2:06:27 and move to fourth on the European all-time list behind Bashir Abdi (2:03:36), Kaan Kigen Ozbilen (2:04:16) and Abdi Nageeye (2:04:56).</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The last two kilometres were wonderful, even though I was very tired. This race was very special. I was already expecting the time, although of course anything can happen in a marathon," said Petros.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/266421c2-5744-4faa-ae0c-74e0612ac249?width=5000&amp;height=3333" alt="Getty Images 1698813683"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Just behind Petros, his training partner Tadesse Abraham, the 2016 European half marathon champion, finished eleventh in a Swiss record of 2:05:10. And at 41 years old, his time was also a world over-40 marathon record.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Belgium&rsquo;s Michael Somers also improved to 2:08:08 to finish 16th to squeeze inside the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifying standard by a mere one second.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Purdue clocks 2:22:17&nbsp;</h2>
<p dir="ltr">After a spell on the sidelines due to illness and injury, Charlotte Purdue returned to top form with a ninth-place finish in the women&rsquo;s race in 2:22:17 to move back up to third on the British all-time list.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Purdue ran near identical splits of 71:16/71:01 to move from 16th at halfway up to ninth, picking off the likes of Romania&rsquo;s Delvine Meringor who faded to 12th in 2:23:25 having sped through the halfway point in 68:18.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/fb75a302-3218-4802-86c5-27c765de7877?width=5000&amp;height=3333" alt="Getty Images 1698814360"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Part of Germany&rsquo;s gold medal-winning team in the marathon at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships last summer, there was individual glory for Domenika Mayer who was the top German finisher in 14th in 2:23:47, a lifetime best by more than three minutes.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And a second Swiss record of the day was set by former steeplechaser Fabienne Schlumpf who finished 15th in 2:25:27 to improve her previous mark of 2:26:14 and finish comfortably inside the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:26:50.</p>

National records tumble in a record-breaking Berlin Marathon

<p class="p1"><strong>At the Mattoni &Uacute;st&iacute; nad Labem Half Marathon 2023, the fourth and final race of the EuroHeroes series, on Saturday (16) Tereza Hrochova of the Czech Republic and Sebastian Hendel of Germany finished first and second in the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s races respectively, which was good enough for them to take the overall EuroHeroes titles for 2023.</strong></p>
<p class="p1">The first three half marathons of the series, which is held in the Czech Republic, took place in the spring in Karlovy Vary, Ceske Budejovice and Olomouc, with the final event being the weekend&rsquo;s Mattoni &Uacute;st&iacute; nad Labem Half Marathon 2023.</p>
<p class="p1">In the men&rsquo;s race, Hendel had to run under 1:06 to secure the victory, and he did so in impressive style, clocking 1:05:16 to take the win. This also secured him the overall EuroHeroes crown with 2018 points.</p>
<p class="p1">In the women&rsquo;s race, Hrochova battled it out with European Athletics marathon champion Aleksandra Lisowska for the overall title, with Hrochova finishing second in 1:13:49 and Lisowska taking third place in 1:15:18. Ukraine&rsquo;s Valeriia Zinenko took the race win, just six seconds ahead of Hrochova in 1:13:43.</p>
<p class="p1">This result meant that both Hrochova and Lisowska scored higher than the previous series leader Belgium&rsquo;s Hanne Verbruggen in the overall EuroHeroes standings. Hrochova was awarded the overall title with 2111 points, with Lisowska taking second with 2084 points, and Verbruggen third with 2076 points.</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/05705c44-3093-4d34-a9cd-05d1b4bf47c9?key=q75maxwidth600" alt="2023 0916 16052500"></p>
<p class="p1">The EuroHeroes Awards Ceremony followed the final race and was an evening of celebration, recognition and inspiration. The event saw the series&rsquo; top-ranking athletes presented their awards by Marko Vasic, Running Unit Director at European Athletics, and Carlo Capalbo, President of the RunCzech organising committee.</p>
<p class="p1">At the start of the evening, Capalbo said: &ldquo;Every beautiful thing, every outstanding thing starts by chance. We had this idea about ten years ago. EuroHeroes aims to identify, promote, and develop European athletes. And that's what we did in 2018. In 2019, we received an award from European Athletics for the best European project.</p>
<p class="p1">&ldquo;Of course, we had a small, sad break, and now we are back in 2023. I am particularly happy to start EuroHeroes again because the quality of athletes who ran these four races is extremely high, so it was very competitive.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="p1">Mr Vasic added: &ldquo;European Athletics celebrates these amazing European athletes, winners of the EuroHeroes race series. With this exciting format, we are creating new heroes of athletics, amazing runners, and in the home of Emil Z&aacute;topek, a true European hero.</p>
<p class="p1">&ldquo;Tonight, we are here to celebrate the new generation of European heroes, Tereza and Sebastian. European Athletics is here to celebrate you. Tereza, you are walking in the big steps of Zatopek and promoting our sport to a new generation of runners. And Sebastian, you are bringing this mould to millions of Germans and hundreds of Europeans. Thank you to both of you and all the other runners and thank you for bringing this sport to the masses and making more people run.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="p1">The EuroHeroes project and awards ceremony would not be possible without the commitment of RunCzech, European Athletics and the four cities and regions in the Czech Republic that host the races.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong><a href="https://www.runczech.com/en/running-league/euroheroes/list-of-races/euroheroes-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final standings</a></strong></p>
<h2 class="p1">About EuroHeroes</h2>
<p class="p1">EuroHeroes was founded by RunCzech in 2018 and since then has honoured and celebrated the achievements of European athletes with the goal of enhancing the competitiveness of European athletes, promoting their development, and uncovering new running stars.</p>
<p class="p1">The competition format requires runners to complete at least two of the four EuroHeroes races (all World Athletics Road Race Label half marathons in 2023) held in the Czech Republic to be in with a chance of winning the overall title. Athletes are awarded points according to the World Athletics Scoring Tables to determine the winners. The sum of the two best points totals earned by each athlete determines the final rankings and titles.</p>

Hendel and Hrochova crowned 2023 EuroHeroes following final race

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Netherlands&rsquo; Robin van Riel and T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s Emine Hatun Mechaal claimed victories in the Brasov Running Festival&rsquo;s European Road Mile, winning in national records of 4:05.5 and 4:41.7 respectively on Saturday evening.</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Mechaal was the first across the line as dusk started to fall over the Coresi district of the Romanian city in a well calculated win that saw the former European U20 cross country champion pull away from her nearest rivals over the final 100 metres.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">&ldquo;It was my first ever road mile, but I really enjoyed the experience and there was a lot of support from the crowd out there. It was a hard finish, but I just had enough left,&rdquo; said Mechaal. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Romania&rsquo;s Cristina Balan finishing second in 4:43.0 while reigning Greek 1500m champion Melissa Anastaskis was third in 4:44.0, both women also setting national records in an event that has had &lsquo;official status&rsquo; since the start of the 2023,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/35fc68db-b875-432e-9b3b-86eb89dc79f3?width=3000&amp;height=1999" alt="T&uuml;rkiye's Emine Hatun Mechaal Winning at the Brasov Running Festival's European Road Mile"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Barely five minutes after the leading women crossed the line, it was the turn for the gun to go on the men&rsquo;s race.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The leading pack were reluctant to go with the Kenyan pacemaker Stephen Masindet and went through 1km in 2:37.7, led by the Netherlands' 2023 European U23 1500m champion <span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; color: #1d2228; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Stefan Nillessen </span>which made the anticipated sub-four minute time and a world record&nbsp; a little unlikely.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In the end, van Riel &ndash; the 2019 European U20 1500m silver medallist who a week ago set a 1500m personal best of 3:36.61 in Padua, Italy &ndash; was able to outsprint his younger compatriot </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; color: #1d2228; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Nillessen in a thrilling duel as the finish line approached.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; color: #1d2228; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Van Riel clocked 4:05.5 to Nillessen&rsquo;s 4:05.8 with Italy&rsquo;s Giovanni Filippi third in 4:07.2.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; color: #1d2228; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a new distance and not so many people have run it before, but I like it, I like technical races, it&rsquo;s almost like playing games and I like coming from behind. I feel this is more my event, where I can beat guys who have faster times on the track than me just by good tactics,&rdquo; reflected van Riel.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; color: #1d2228; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Full results of all the races at the Brasov Running Festival, including the European Road Mile, can be found </span><a href="https://brasovrun.depar.hr/2023/#1"><strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">here</span></strong></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; color: #1d2228; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">.</span></p>

Victories and national records for van Riel and Mechaal  at the European Road Mile in Brasov  

<p><strong>Germany&rsquo;s Sebastian Hendel and Belgium&rsquo;s Hanne Verbruggen were the latest athletes to be crowned EuroHeroes following their victories in the 13<sup>th</sup> edition of the Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon - the oldest regional half marathon in the RunCzech series - on Saturday (17),&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>A total of 6600 runners from 25 countries and 45 nationalities took part in the dm family mile and the half marathon in warm, still conditions in the historic centre of Han&aacute;.</p>
<p>Hendel, who had won the 2022 &Uacute;st&iacute; nad Labem half marathon, soon broke away from the leading group of six and went on to another victory in 1:03:55.</p>
<p>"I am very satisfied and happy. I'm back to training now after the Vienna Marathon a few weeks ago and I didn't know how I would feel. But it looked good from the beginning. The finish was just between me and David and I had to work hard," he said. "Olomouc is a very beautiful city and I enjoyed it, even though the route was tough."</p>
<p>Second place went to former Swedish marathon champion David Nilsson in 1:04:07. "I couldn't keep up with his [Sebastian's] pace at the end, but I'm not dissatisfied," he said. Meanwhile, the first Czech athlete to cross the finish line was Patrik Vebr in 1:08:17.</p>
<p><img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/b54dfa2d-cf06-4806-9797-d088a7a8c939?key=q75maxwidth2000" alt="Halfolomouc 20230617 0174" /></p>
<p>The women&rsquo;s race saw a clear victory for Belgium&rsquo;s 2021 Olympian Hanne Verbruggen, who finished eighth in the marathon at last year&rsquo;s European Athletics Championships in Munich, in a time of 1:12:44.</p>
<p>Ukraine&rsquo;s Viktoriia Kaluzhina held on to her for around six kilometres, but in the end she couldn't resist the pressure of home athlete Tereza Hrochova in the finish on the Upper Square, with the pair finishing close together in 1:13:33 and 1:13:35 for second and third places.</p>
<p>"I was very sick in March, and this was my first half marathon," said the Ukrainian runner, who now lives and trains in Poznan, Poland. Hrochova, on the other hand, was thrilled. "The result was beyond my expectations. It's a&nbsp;week after the World Mountain Running Championships and I&nbsp;wanted to run my legs up after that hill race, because I&nbsp;have the European Athletics Team Championships in one&nbsp;week. But the way the race was going, I&nbsp;wanted to try and keep up with the girls and I&nbsp;did. It was warm, plus the cobbles and kerbs, but I'm very happy, the great spectators helped me get through the crunches," she said.</p>
<p><strong>View <a href="https://www.runczech.com/en/results/resultsEventDetail?eventId=24871&amp;frm.subeventId=24872&amp;page=1&amp;per_page=15&amp;sort=finishTime">full results</a> and current <a href="https://www.runczech.com/en/running-league/euroheroes/list-of-races/euroheroes-challenge">EuroHeroes Challenge 2023 standings</a>.</strong></p>

Hendel and Verbruggen are latest EuroHeroes after Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon wins

<p><strong>On a sunny day in Česk&eacute; Budějovice, Czech Republic, Poland&rsquo;s Tomasz Grycko and Bulgaria&rsquo;s Militsa Mircheva claimed victories at the Mattoni Česk&eacute; Budějovice Half Marathon, the second part of the EuroHeroes series.</strong></p>
<p>More than 4600 runners ran from the Přemysl Otakar II Square in the South Bohemian capital in the World Athletics Label Road Race along with the dm family mile and dm bambini run, greeted by supporters including Dagmar &Scaron;kodov&aacute;-Parmov&aacute;, the Mayor of Česk&eacute; Budějovice.</p>
<p>In the men&rsquo;s race, Tomasz Grycko, from Wladyslawowo on the shores of the Baltic Sea, beat his four-year-old personal best by three seconds with 1:04:01. Moldova&rsquo;s Maxim Raileanu finished second in 1:04:30, a repeat of his finishing position at the first EuroHeroes race in Karlovy Vary.</p>
<p>Grycko said: &ldquo;The race pace in the first half was more free, in a group, then there were only three of us left. I kept my own pace and then could easily speed up at the 18th kilometre and break away at the front. I'm really happy, even with the time.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/9ac5b3b0-a81e-4c1a-8b0a-b5452e71b364?key=q75maxwidth1200" alt="Militsa Mircheva" /></p>
<p>The two leading women, Bulgaria&rsquo;s Militsa Mircheva and Monika Jackiewicz of Poland, were in a group with two Czech men for much of the race, but at the final kilomatre sign, the Bulgarian runner took off, storming to victory in 1:14:56 with Jackiewicz 27 seconds behind in 1:15:23.</p>
<p>"I ran very well. The pace was more marathon-like. But it was better to stay in the group in this windy weather. It was only at the end that I trusted my finish and went as hard as I could," smiled Mircheva, who improved from her second-place finish at Karlovy Vary.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.runczech.com/en/results/resultsEventDetail?eventId=24861&amp;frm.subeventId=24862&amp;page=1&amp;per_page=15&amp;sort=finishTime">Full results</a></strong></p>

Grycko and Mircheva become latest EuroHeroes at Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon

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Grycko and Mircheva become latest EuroHeroes at Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon