site.btaRunathon Sofia to Promote Running as Intergenerational Team Activity

A total of 240 people from 10 foreign countries will gather in the Bulgarian capital on October 1 for Runathon Sofia, a running competition financed under the EU's Erasmus+ Programme. They will be joined by 140 runners from Bulgaria, led by renowned athletes and motivators.

Runathon Sofia will be taking place for the first time. It will be a warm-up event ahead of the Sofia Marathon on October 8. The Runathon is aimed to encourage people across all generations, genders and abilities from EU countries to run regularly and to promote running as an intergenerational team activity with significant physical, mental and social benefits for active ageing.

Entrants will compete at running distances of 2.5 km, 5 km, 10 km and 20 km. The shortest distance is mainly for people with special needs. The 5 km and 10 km races will be team runs, with a simultaneous start for all. The 20 km competition will be a 4-by-5-km relay. The races are open to four-member teams. The members of each team should belong to different age groups: 20-40, 40-50, 50-60 and 60+. Each team should be half male, half female.

The runners will use a specially designed track around the NDK convention centre. The foreign entrants are from Austria, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

Runathon Sofia has been organized by the Association for Sport in Free Time.