A 24-year-old senior runner for the University of Northern Colorado from Tanzania will run for her home country this weekend at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.
Regina Mpigachai, a member of the Bears’ cross country and track and field teams, will compete Saturday at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
Mpigachai is scheduled to run in the mixed relay, one of five races through the morning and early afternoon. In 2024, Mpigachai became the first UNC cross country runner in the Division I era to qualify for the NCAA championship meet. Northern Colorado Bears runner Regina Mpigachai high fives with her coach Wayne Angel after finishing her workout during practice at Nottingham Field on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)The World Athletics Championships is a professional meet, allowing Mpigachai to fulfill a dream for both herself and a former coach, the late Ron Davis. At the meet will be 485 athletes from 52 federations. The race will be at least the 10th time Mpigachai has run for Tanzania since she was a junior-level athlete.
“It means so much to me, actually, to represent my flag,” she said. “This is really big, you know. So this is another level. It’s a bigger level than I’ve ever competed in in my life. So it really means a lot to me.”
The prize money listed for the race ranges from $30,000 for an individual gold medal to $20,000 for a team winning a gold and $12,000 for a gold in the mixed relay. Northern Colorado Bears runner Regina Mpigachai puts on running shoes while laughing with her teammate Monique Stewart during practice at Nottingham Field on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer) Mpigachai started running when she was about 8 years old. She is from Geita, Tanzania, a city and a region in the northwest area of the country. Tanzania is a coastal nation on the Indian Ocean with a population of about 69 million people.
She was selected to be on the Tanzanian team for the championships based on her results in races at UNC.
“I’ll be competing with different people. NCAA (runners). Pros,” she said. “It’s another level, maybe, let’s put it that way. It’s a big level, which I’ve never competed before.”
Northern Colorado Bears runner Regina Mpigachai runs during practice at Nottingham Field on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Hence then, the article about unc bears mpigachai to run in world athletics cross country championships was published today ( ) and is available on GreeleyTribune ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( UNC Bears’ Mpigachai to run in World Athletics Cross Country Championships )
Also on site :