Participants at Running for Clean Air in Warsaw
In March 2024, World Athletics launches the project Running for Clean Air together with local partners in Warsaw, Poland. World Athletics deploys an air quality monitor in one of the Warsaw city parks to kick off a six-month-long measurement that will culminate with dynamic air quality monitoring during the Warsaw City Marathon in September 2024.
World Athletics together with the local project partners – the Warsaw Marathon Foundation, Polish Athletics, and the City of Warsaw – launch Running for Clean Air in Warsaw, Poland. By measuring air quality in a common running spot in Warsaw from April to September 2024, the project raises awareness of air quality’s impact on human health and running performance.
The air quality monitor will be installed in one of the Warsaw city parks in the upcoming weeks. The location is chosen in a way so that the park is well connected with all its parts by public transport and is a commonly used place for leisure activities.
"The goal of installing an air quality monitor in one of our central city parks is to enhance an air quality monitoring near places where people do sports, and to increase awareness of air quality impact on individuals during exercises," says Magdalena Młochowska, the Deputy Director from the City of Warsaw.
After the installation, the air quality index and heat stress index can be seen online by anyone with a link, making it widely accessible and easy to understand. Further to that, analytical reports will be produced by the World Athletics’ Health and Science Department on a monthly basis.
Running for Clean Air kicks off in Warsaw, Poland, on 24 March when the city hosts its half marathon organised by one of the key project partners, the Warsaw Marathon Foundation: “We are fully aware of the responsibility that comes with our leading role in the Polish running market,” says Marek Tronina, CEO of the Warsaw Marathon Foundation. “Clean air is vital for the health of the general population, and by addressing it in our events, we want to motivate global running communities to take action on this matter.”
The measurements and campaign efforts will continue until another important running event for Warsaw – the Warsaw Marathon, which takes place on 29 September 2024, and during which the dynamic air quality monitoring will be conducted to map the marathon route.
Air quality is not a new topic to Warsaw, a city with more than 100 sensors already installed, but its connection to sport is. The Warsaw running community, that Running for Clean Air aims to leverage for this project, is a powerful mass of people, interested in their health and results.
“Making the connection between physical activity and air quality is very important to Polish Athletics,” says Hubert T Trochimowicz, ESG & Development Consultant from Polish Athletics. “We advocate for a healthy lifestyle and this allows us to better understand the conditions the people in Warsaw exercise in so that we can further improve them and bring even more people into our sport.”
Warsaw is the first city ever to host the Running for Clean Air project. It will be followed by Lagos later in 2024.
Running for Clean Air
Running for Clean Air is a World Athletics initiative, funded by the Clean Air Fund. Its objective is to address air pollution in urban areas. World Athletics cooperates with local stakeholders to measure hyper-local air quality and share the data in a large awareness campaign, using city marathons as the key platform to leverage existing running communities, spark positive transformations within cities, and increase awareness of air quality issues. Visit the project website to learn more.
