Some 478 walkers – 312 men and 166 women – will represent a record 64 IAAF Member Federations will compete in Saransk on Saturday and Sunday (May 12 and 13).

Saransk, the capital of the Republic of Mordovia, is the second Russian city to play host to the World Race Walking Cup after Cheboksary held the 2008 event that was attended by 53 Member Federations.

The two kilometres loop road course around which the competition's five races – men's 50km, men's and women's 20km, and junior men's and women's 10km – will be contested is situated in the heart of the city.

It is essentially a flat course with a slight climb from south to north.

The largest gathering in the 24-edition history of the competition was previously registered in the Spanish city of La Coruña, where 58 countries took part in 2006.

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