LUKAN READY FOR USA DEBUT AT MASTERCARD NEW YORK MINI 10-K
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission.
NEW YORK (05-Jun) — To speak to Klara Lukan is to feel unaccomplished.
The 25-year-old Slovenian from Šentjerjej is already a two-time Olympian, the European record holder for 10,000 m on the roads, the reigning World University Games 10,000m champion (and Games record holder), a 2025 European Road Running Championships bronze medalist, and the ninth-fastest European woman ever in the half-marathon.
But there is so much more. The Puma-sponsored athlete has a master’s degree in international business, is an employee of the Slovenian Police (who help support her athletics career), and works 20 hours a week for a software company in her spare time.
“I am currently employed in the police as a professional athlete,” Lukan told Race Results Weekly in a sit-down interview at a midtown hotel this morning. “As a part-time job, I’m employed as a project manager at a Norwegian software company. For me, it’s perfect because I can also combine it with athletics. It’s 100% remote online, so I can work from anywhere around the world.”
That’s good because Lukan gets around. Last weekend, she was in Manchester, England, where she won the very competitive AJ Bell Great Manchester Run 10-K in 30:58, and she flew directly here for Saturday’s 54th Mastercard New York Mini 10-K, the world’s original all-women’s road race, founded in 1972. About 10,500 women are expected to take part, according to race founders and organizers, New York Road Runners. It’s Lukan’s first-ever trip to the United States.
“I heard it has a special tradition,” Lukan said. “It’s meant for elite athletes, and I have heard that it’s really popular here in the States. Also, they invite many world-class athletes to come here. I’m super-excited to be here, to compete tomorrow against the best women.”
Indeed, the Mini has a truly top-class field. Led by a trio of top Kenyans -world 10-K record holder Agnes Ngetich, reigning TCS New York City Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, and reigning Boston Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi– Lukan will line up against ten women who have run 31:30 or better on the road. Lukan is the second-fastest athlete in the field with her 29:51 European record set in Laredo, Spain, on April 18.
2 Eva Dieterich (Germany) 31:25
3 Klara Lukan (Slovenia) 31:26, photo by European Athletics
“It was a surreal feeling,” Lukan said of setting that record. “It was not a surprise, actually. “I’ve been having this idea in my mind for quite some time before the race. My goal was not to break the area record (30:07), but to become the first European woman under 30 minutes.”
Could she win the Mini? The last European woman to win the race was Hilda Kibet of the Netherlands in 2008.
“That would be something really awesome,” said Lukan. “Even to be part of the elite field and then to win the race would be really special.”
Such an accomplishment would have seemed impossible for Lukan just three years ago when her road 10-K personal best was a modest 33:03. But working with her coach Tevž Korent– the man who told the former 800m runner that long distances were her calling– she has steadily developed into a top distance runner. Korent, whom Lukan has worked with since 2017, has gradually increased her training volume to about 130 km per week (peak weeks of 150 km), still modest for an athlete who has run 1:06:43 for the half-marathon.
“He told me the first time he saw me that if you continue to work, you’re going to be a long-distance runner,” Lukan recalled. “Because he saw, based on my running abilities and my running step, that I’m more suited for the longer distances. It was an organic transition.”
Lukan did not run a 3000m race until she was 18, or a 5000m race until she was 19. That was the summer of 2019, before the global COVID pandemic shutdown, and Lukan, in just her second race at the distance, won the European U20 title at 5000m (she beat eventual Olympic silver medalist Nadia Battocletti of Italy by six seconds). She did her first road 10-K that fall in Ljubljana and ran 33:23, and immediately fell in love with road running.
“I think I was born a road runner,” Lukan explained. “Because also my coach tells me that my running step is much more efficient on the roads than on the track. Apparently, I have a technique that is more suitable for road running. Also, I see that my recovery is much faster after road races than after the track. That’s for sure, probably because of the carbon-plated shoes.”
Lukan also admitted that road races are a lot more fun.
“You know, overall, road running for me is much more fun, especially when I do those long runs, like a 10-K. For me, it’s a different world than the track 10-K (where) you have so many laps, and it’s so repetitive. On the roads, it’s just that the atmosphere is different. I would say many more people, more support, and more dynamic. To me, it’s really fun when we all start together.”
Tomorrow, Lukan will have to use her best racing instincts to perform well. There are no pacemakers, and the Central Park course has several significant hills (the race has used several different courses over the years; tomorrow’s course is slightly downhill, so it is not record-eligible). She wouldn’t disclose her race plans, but she said she has total trust in her coach.
“I believe really that the perfect coach doesn’t exist, but if you find the perfect coach for yourself, it’s basically a fairy tale,” Lukan said. “I believe in my case, it goes like that. You really need someone who believes in you and whom you trust. It’s a really close relationship because you work with that person every day. You need to communicate, collaborate, and I believe I have the perfect synergy with my coach.”
Looking ahead, Lukan plans to compete in the European Championships in Birmingham in the 10,000m and then return to the roads. She has her eyes on the marathon, at least eventually.
“When I was 12 years old, my previous coach told me you’re going to be a long-distance marathon runner if you continue into the senior category,” Lukan said. “Also, my current coach said I’m going to finish in a marathon. I also agree with that because I feel that my strong point is endurance. I can really keep the high tempo for a long time. I believe that the marathon is the perfect distance for that. I really don’t have a strong kick at the finish. I believe if we push the pace, I can endure for a long time.”
