Mo Farah is lining up his next big act and is lending his support for RunGP, a team-based long distance running series that will take place on Formula 1 tracks all over the world.
The four-time Olympic champion has paired with Global Running League to introduce RunGP, it’s innovative formats and why he feels it’s time for him to pivot to a new post-retirement venture.
At the Web Summit technology conference held in Doha, Qatar, last Thursday, Farah was explained what attracted him to the league and how the group behind the event plans to attract an audience.
“I’ve done pretty much everything there is to achieve as an athlete,” Farah said during the conference. “For us, and for me, it was so important being able to give back to the sport and being able to give back to the community; the younger generation. So we created Global Running GP to give people a chance to run, but also create something different.”
The first RunGP meet will be on May 9 and 10 at the Lusail International Circuit in Doha and the remaining dates have not yet been announced. But one specific feature of all RunGP events is they will take place on Formula 1 race tracks.
“This is not about individual. This is about team events,” Farah said. “And in that league you will have seven members and each member has a job. But then also have different levels from elite to all the way to masters. Also we’re going to have the kids event.”
Four races will make up a typical RunGP meet.
The two-day event begins with a youth race at 400m, 800m and 1 mile distances. Later, a 90-minute open track session at night challenges competitors to show off creative concepts on the run wearing LED lights and judges will pick the best ensembles.
The second day focuses on speed events, with a 7.032km race — one sixth of a marathon — as runners compete for $50,000 in three slots on the podium. The featured event is the final race and is an invite-only elite team relay. Four teams will run seven laps of 1km on the circuit, with $175,000 in prizes at stake.
Elite runners in the main event will be tracked with GPS biometrics to mimic the performance statistics that viewer see during Formula 1 races.
“We designed this concept also not around just attracting established runners, it’s also getting to younger people.” Marcel Muenster, CEO of Global Running League said. “We have the F1 tracks. All of these new elements — the TV element itself — to attract these new audiences to grow the sport to basically make it more accessible in so many ways.”
Farah and RunGP join a growing list of ventures, that in the past two years, have begun to challenge the status quo in running.
In April, Grand Slam Track launches its inaugural meet in Jamaica, with Michael Johnson lending credibility to the league which has drawn marquee names like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Josh Kerr. It offers some of the highest individual cash prizes in track will be a test of the sport’s viability outside of the Diamond League, Olympics and various national — and world — championships.
Meanwhile, the Alexis Ohanian-backed Athlos women’s-only meet last September in New York showed that a flashy and well-produced event could attract stars like Faith Kipyegon and Gabby Thomas, while treating fans to a concert-like experience.
Both ventures echo the emergence of recent golf upstarts like LIV Golf and TGL, both of which have been met with praise and concerns over how they have challenged the PGA.
In the case of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, massive guaranteed payouts swayed a number of top golfers like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson from the PGA. Meanwhile TGL is an indoor arena team league infusing technology into the game with a season that does not conflict with PGA tournaments.
The PGA and LIV Golf agreed to a merger in 2023, but the details of how the new group will operate have still not been revealed.
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