Get ready for some serious road racing action in Eastern Europe. The inaugural tRUNsylvania International 10K Cluj, powered by Joma, is locked and loaded for Sunday, June 28. Set right in the heart of Cluj-Napoca—Romania’s vibrant cultural hub and the unofficial capital of Transylvania—this event promises to be a scorcher.
The World Athletics Elite Label race will feature separate, highly competitive fields for men and women. It acts as the crown jewel of the brand-new, weekend-long Cluj Running Festival (June 27-28), drawing top-tier distance talent from nearly 20 nations.
Timing is everything. With the qualification deadline for the 2026 European Athletics Championships looming just under a month away, the stakes are sky-high. Expect a desperate, tactical scramble for continental standard times, mixed with international heavyweights looking to exploit a flat, lightning-fast city-centre course.
Amghar Leads the Men; Melly and Harrison Clash
On the men’s side, Morocco’s Hicham Amghar returns to familiar stomping grounds. Amghar knows how to win in Romania; he took the tape at the 2024 tRUNsylvania 10K in Brasov with a blistering personal best of 27:09. He’ll have a target on his back.
Chasing him down will be Norway’s Zerei Kbrom Mezngi, the 2022 European 10,000m silver medallist, and the Netherlands’ Filmon Tesfu, who is dropping down in distance after clocking a sharp 2:06:40 at the Rotterdam Marathon.
Keep an eye on: The women’s race, which is shaping up to be an absolute thriller.
Local icon and 2024 European half-marathon silver medallist Joan Chelimo Melly will command the hometown crowd’s roaring support. But she won’t have it easy. Great Britain’s Samantha Harrison rolls into Romania boasting the fastest 10km lifetime best in the field at 30:51, which is exactly one second faster than Melly.
Adding serious intrigue to the mix is Kenya’s Virginia Nyambura. A gold medallist from Kenya’s mixed relay squad at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships, Nyambura is making her official road 10km debut. Don’t let the lack of a 10K PB fool you; she dropped a 1:08:31 half-marathon in Japan this April and recently crushed a 10,000m track PB at altitude in Kenya. She is dangerous.
Global Ambitions for Cluj-Napoca
The mastermind behind the event, Daniel Santa, is understandably ecstatic about expanding Romania’s footprint on the global running map.
“After the success of the Brasov Running Festival over recent years in the autumn, it was a natural extension for us to look for a spring or summer venue,” Santa said. “The idea was initially to make the elite races predominantly European to provide a late opportunity for international standard runners to qualify for the European Athletics Championships.”
However, the running world caught wind of the fast course, and the plans grew.
“Requests to run from elsewhere were much greater than expected—endorsing my feeling that this event has huge potential—so we have expanded our horizons. I look forward to some thrilling battles and fast times in Cluj-Napoca once the guns fire on 28 June,” Santa added.
Fans worldwide can catch the action live. The tRUNsylvania International 10K will be live-streamed with English commentary on the European Athletics YouTube channel, while a Romanian broadcast will be available via the official event website.
Elite fields and personal bests
Men’s Field
- Hicham Amghar (MAR) – 27:09
- Zerei Kbrom Mezngi (NOR) – 27:39
- Filmon Tesfu (NED) – 27:45
- Samuel Barata (POR) – 27:54
- Duarte Gomes (POR) – 28:08
- Moses Cheruiyot (KEN) – 28:09
- Seare Weldezghi (ART) – 28:14
- Noah Shutte (NED) – 28:19
- James Whelan (AUS) – 28:26
- Pol Espinosa (ESP) – 28:47
Women’s Field
- Samantha Harrison (GBR) – 30:51
- Joan Chelimo Melly (ROU) – 30:52
- Fiona Everard (IRL) – 31:58
- Manon Trapp (FRA) – 32:21
- Niamh Allen (IRL) – 32:25
- Robe Dida (ETH) – 32:27
- Maor Tiyouri (ISR) – 32:29
- Lilla Bohm (HUN) – 32:41.41 (Track)
- Cristina Espejo (ESP) – 32:52
- Netsanet Desta (ETH) – Debut (1:08:10 Half Marathon)
- Virginia Nyambura (KEN) – Debut (1:08:31 Half Marathon)
Beyond the elites, the two-day festival features a major community push with youth races ranging from 800m to 3km, alongside a mass-participation 5km community run.
For more information and full event details, visit clujrun.ro.
