The University of Debrecen (230 km east of Budapest) organizes on 8/10/2006 the 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships under the supervision of International Association of Athletics Federation. The participating competitors in this championship are those who achieved advanced ranks in the World Half Marathon Championships 2002-2005, and those athletes (men and women) who won this field’s races in their countries. Winner Athletes in this championship will share its prizes which reach 245000 dollars.

The 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships is a replacement championship to the previous World Half Marathon Championships which was founded in 1992 when 36 countries participated in England. The current 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships is going to cover a circular road of 20 km marking 5 km for each lap inside the streets of the Debrecen city.

The deadline of the participation in this event was on the 25th of the past August. Forty five countries are to participate in this championship and they are all members in the International Association of Athletics Federation. The number of participating athletes registered officially in the event reached 180 athletes (men and women).

On the top list of the participating competitors comes the Eritrean Zersenay Tadesse, the 2004 Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist and the winner of Rotterdam Half Marathon Championships in last September where he consumed 59: 16: 00 to reach the finish line which is the 4th fastest record in these races. Our champion Mubarek Hassan Shami also participates in the current 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships. Shami was able to win in the

half marathon race in Italy’s 5th Run Tune Up, Half Marathon held in Bologna on the 3rd of September 2006 where he recorded 1:02:46. Also, he achieved the 3rd rank in Sicily’s competition last August and was ranked 2nd after the Tanzanian Falipiano in the World Half Marathon Championships which was held in the city of Edmonton in Canada last year.

Shami continued his training sessions under the supervision of his coach Rinato Kanova. He also trained in one of his sessions with Qatar’s splendid champion Saif Shaheen in the training camp organized in Switzerland’s Saint Mortize city.