Paula Radcliffe, the world-renowned running superstar, becomes the ambassador of the Brașov Running Festival in 2024

Brașov, July 16th 2024

The former world record holder and marathon world champion, Paula Radcliffe, becomes the ambassador of this year's Brașov Running Festival, an event which will take place on September 21-22. The athlete is an iconic figure in the running world, with an impressive track record and serving as an inspiration to athletes worldwide. Her marathon world record, set in 2003,remained unbeaten for 16 years.

"I'm really looking forward to coming to Brașov for this event, which shows such remarkable ambition. I've heard amazing things about the competition, the organization, and the Romanian public, and I'm excited to experience it all first hand and witness some incredible performances", said Paula Radcliffe, the former British long-distance runner.

British athlete Paula Radcliffe will join the 4th edition of the Brașov Running Festival as an ambassador and special guest, promoting, on an international level, the most important athletics event in the World Athletics calendar in the SE region of Europe. Through this unprecedented partnership in Romania, Paula Radcliffe will become part of the story of a world-class competition that aims to have the fastest course in the world while also celebrating sport and community joy in a festival context.

”Two years ago, the renowned Mary Keitany, the most decorated marathoner in the World Marathon Majors, was the ambassador of the Brașov Running Festival. Now, in 2024, the event welcomes another distinguished guest and supporter. We are honored to have Paula Radcliffe join us as the competition's ambassador. It is thrilling to have a marathon world champion, multiple half-marathon world champion, and two-time cross-country world champion run on a course in Brașov. This will undoubtedly elevate the stature of our competition and Romanian athletics", stated Daniel Santa, Director of the Brașov Running Festival.

Paula Radcliffe's presence in Brașov is no coincidence. She is also a former world record holder for the 10KM road race, running 30 minutes and 21 seconds in 2003 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a historic result at the time.

2003 is also the year Radcliffe set the world record for the marathon with a time of 2:15:25, cementing her status as a global superstar. At the end of that year, she was awarded the title MBE - Most Excellent Order of The British Empire by the British royal family.

Brașov Running Festival - one of the top 10 fastest competitions in the world

Following the 2023 edition, the women's 10K race became the fastest in the world, while the men's 10K race entered the top 10 fastest races internationally. With international recognition in 162 countries, the event is gaining increasing prominence, attracting legendary names in running, such as Paula Radcliffe, who are gradually becoming part of the Brașov Running Festival story.

The 4th edition, set to take place on September 21-22, promises to be a celebration of sport and community, bringing together runners from around the world to compete and celebrate running.

Thus, on the first day of the competition there will be races for juniors and children, covering distances of 800 m, 1,200 m and 3,000 m, while on the second day there are scheduled races with massive participation, with distances of 5 and 10 kilometers, a wheelchair race, as well as the Romanian National 10K Championship.

Professional (licensed) athletes who wish to participate in elite races (TRUNsylvania International 10K, European Road Mile, BRF 3K juniors or BRF 5K) are asked to submit an application to elite@brasovrun.ro. Registrations are made on the event website: brasovrun.ro.

More details on how the Brașov Running Festival 2023 was held can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/BrasovRunningFestival/videos/917087160200937

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About Brașov Running Festival

Brasov Running Festival is the most important athletics event on the World Athletics calendar in Southeast Europe. Organized in Brașov since 2021, the competition includes an annual 10 km road race, accredited with the elite World Athletics label, entitled 'TRUNsylvania International 10K'. In addition, the running festival includes a lot of other races for amateurs, children and professionals.

Races take place on a loop route with a length of 3,494 m, using the same finish line, but having variable starting points depending on the length of the distance. In 2023, Brasov Running Festival also hosted for the first time the 'European Road Mile' race, which was attended by more than 20 European athletes from countries such as Turkey, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Greece and Bulgaria.