Inaugural World Treadmill Championships are coming to Canada

The World Treadmill Championships are here, and they are coming to Edmonton in January 2024. Albertans will see the best runners in the world compete virtually, on a treadmill, in what is inclined to be the wildest world championships to date.

World Athletics announced the new championships in the wee hours of April 1 in an effort to broaden the sport of running to a wider audience and be more inclusive to fair-weather runners. The championships will have a mix of common and unusual distances, from the mile to the one-hour run, then the 15-minute race at a 15 per cent incline. 

The governing body expects to see more than 250 of the world’s top runners make their way to Rogers Place in Edmonton, the home of the Oilers, for four days of virtual racing on Zwift, a virtual running platform taking runners into the mystical land of Watopia.

“Edmonton seemed to be an ideal destination for the event,” determined the WA Council in a press release. “It’s absolutely freezing, and the championships will draw a large audience indoors.”

The organizing committee expects to offer full weekend and overnight passes to keep the public warm for as long as possible.

Athletics Canada’s selection criteria for the 2024 Treadmill World Championships are currently in development. “We are enthused about hosting this large-scale event and can’t wait to grow the art of treadmill racing in Canada,” says Athletics Canada communications co-ordinator Alex Cyr.

There has been no information on when tickets will become available to the public, but… April Fool’s.