Inside Australia's Run Nation Championship: Contact sport that has athletes smashing heads to win

Running towards each other in full force in the hope of actually colliding with each other, that's the criteria for winning a round of the Run Nation Championship (RNC). Most contact sports involve physical touch and tussling, they are a part of the larger goal, like kicking the ball in the net or making it pass through the hoop.

But in this one, things are a bit too brutal and have been steadily growing in popularity, despite controversy.

From social media to sports grounds

Run Nation is actually inspired by a social media trend 'run it straight' which saw random people running into each other for clout and views. Of course, two people colliding into each other would get more attention than them singing or dancing together and this is what the new sport capitalises on. Now, the championships are taking the sport mainstream, just like Dana White's UFC did with mixed martial arts. This is a capitalised version of the one-on-one tackle game that numerous boys grow up playing, especially in Australia and New Zealand. Run Nation and Run It Straight are some of the various versions of the social media trend that have transformed into a fully fledged ‘sport’ in recent years.

What happens in the Run Nation Championship?

The premise of the game is as simple as the multiple violent encounters you watch on social media. Two muscular guys stand a few metres apart and then run at full speed towards each other with absolutely no visible protective gear except a mouthguard.

The one who keeps standing after the collision winds while the one who falls to the ground, loses. There is also a Run It Championship League, another version of the sport where the participants do the same task but with a ball in hand.

Who can participate in the Run Nation Championship?

Participants in the championship have a background in combat sports and are in different weight classes. They also go through blood tests and physical exams. As per Run Nation co-founder and CEO Tremaine Fernandez, while the sport is violent, his organisation has been working to make it as safe as possible.

“We’ve manufactured side-on contact, many markers and rules on the field and rules of engagement, and then on top of that, the player vetting process has just been enormous,” Fernandez told ABC News Australia.

Is it worth the risk?

The risk of concussions and other serious injuries does exist, but the organisation makes sure that there are professionals on the sidelines ready to intervene. “If an injury does occur, we’ve got two doctors on the field who will be assessing what they saw and how to treat that,” said the CEO.

NSW paramedics, neurologists, physios, chiropactors they have a team of all kinds of medical experts to be able to help the athletes with.However, some medical experts argue that the brutal collisions expose runners to potentially devastating brain injuries. Sports neurologist Rowena Mobbs has been calling for the sport to be banned, arguing that the risk of brain trauma is too high. “Certainly every time they run up and clash in that way, there’s likely to be at least a microscopic brain injury,” said the doc.The events came under scrutiny last year when a teenage boy Ryan Satterthwaite died from head injuries after participating in a casual 'run it straight' game with his friends in New Zealand.Official bodies including Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby have warned people not to take part in the sport with the New Zealand Prime Minister also describing it as a "dumb thing to do".

What do the viewers say?

Despite the controversy and risk to health, RNC is filling up stadiums and making good money.

Its second edition recently sold out 5,500 seats at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.South Sydney Rabbitohs star Cody Walker and Australian UFC fighter Tai Tuivasa, were among those in the crowd at the event. Addison Demetriou was crowned the Run Nation super cruiserweight champion, with the judges awarding him a 120-113 victory in the main event."Next biggest sport to hit the scene," said a viewer who attended the championship at the stadium to The Project. "I'm glad unhinged testosterone battles are back man. More of this and less of men discussing Cardi B on podcasts," appreciated an X user online.Champ Betham, who won NZ$20,000 at a June 2025 event of Run It Championship League said the element of danger is secondary. "We got to pay off some debts and stock up the fridges and the cupboards, food for our little ones, especially with the economy and stuff like that here in New Zealand.

Nothing's cheap these days," he said to Radio New Zealand at the time.No matter the warnings or injuries, the games provide viewers with something different to watch along with monetary compensation to the participants. They have been going on for over a year in different formats and as per the prize money and investments, it ensures that people, are watching.