Alongside staging a World Championship that brought elite athletes and everyday runners onto the same streets, the city, Danish Athletics and Sparta Athletics & Running have been using the event as a catalyst to build a stronger and more inclusive running ecosystem – with an ambitious target of engaging 50,000 children and young people.

A World Championship for everyone

Copenhagen’s model demonstrated the particular power of road running. World champions competed over the mile, 5K and half marathon, while around 60,000 recreational runners were able to participate in the World Championship experience themselves.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe believes that combination is fundamental to the sport’s appeal.

“That is what makes road running so powerful. It brings the world’s best athletes together with people who run for entirely different reasons, for community, for the experience, or for their own health. They can all be part of the same event.”

The result was effectively a city-wide running festival, with elite performance providing the spectacle but mass participation putting Copenhagen’s citizens at its heart.

Turning spectacle into participation

Importantly, Copenhagen did not wait until Championship weekend to think about legacy.

Its Road to the World Championship activation programme was designed around a much broader objective: using running to encourage healthier lifestyles, build communities and reach people who are not traditionally part of organised sport. The headline ambition is to engage 50,000 children and young people through nursery and primary-school outreach.

Around 14,000 children have already been engaged, while programmes have reached 21 of Copenhagen’s 61 schools. Initiatives have ranged from school running programmes and local events to holiday activities in disadvantaged communities, a new running group linked to a football club and 500 donated race entries.

That makes the Championship less the culmination of the programme than an accelerator for something intended to continue afterwards.

From first run to lasting change

The challenge now is converting engagement into sustained participation. Copenhagen’s organisers acknowledge that persuading a child to run once is relatively easy; creating the conditions for them to continue is much harder.

Their experience has also challenged assumptions about what participation should look like. Research with schoolchildren suggested that many do not necessarily see themselves as “runners” or want to join traditional athletics clubs. That means developing formats built around fun, teamwork and social connection rather than simply competition and performance.

The wider lesson could be significant for major sports events everywhere. Medals, records and packed streets demonstrate an event’s immediate success. Impact is measured by what remains.

As Copenhagen’s Culture and Leisure Mayor Christopher Røhl said:

“This is how we create a vibrant Copenhagen, where more people feel inspired to lace up their running shoes, become part of the community and join the run.”

For Copenhagen, reaching 60,000 runners over one extraordinary weekend was an achievement. Reaching 50,000 children – and giving more of them a reason to keep running – could prove the more important legacy.