A packed venue in Sydney watched countless brutal big hits on Saturday night despite ongoing concussion warnings about the events.
The Run Nation Championship was held at the Hordern Pavilion as men competed in various weight categories, running at each other on a turf strip with the goal of knocking their opponent to the ground.
South Sydney Rabbitohs star Cody Walker and Aussie heavyweight UFC fighter Tai Tuivasa were among those in the crowd.
Footage of heavyweight clashes at the event have gone viral on social media, with one clip shared by Tuivasa racking up 3.3 million views on Instagram.
In the video, two heavyweights run towards each other and one of them came off worse for wear in a brutal collision, falling to the ground in a whiplash motion, while the other fighter appeared dazed too.
As is now customary at these events, medical staff rushed to the aid of the man who appeared unconscious, rolling him into the recovery position.
The footage of the collision shocked many sport fans who are well and truly aware of the associated concussion concerns.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cyril Gane commented with a shocked face emoji on the post, while leading personal trainer James Smith simply wrote: “CTE.”
The reaction came in thick and fast, with the overwhelming consensus that Run It Straight challenges were dangerous.
“Well, that’s probably the fastest way to Parkinsons,” one person commented.
A second said: “THIS IS TERRIBLE.”
A third said: “This is a brutal sport.”
“Nah this should be banned wtf did I just watch,” a fourth added, while another described it as the “dumbest sport I’ve ever seen.”
Some more scathing reviews included “why not just run into a wall” and “construction is easier, just saying fellas.”
Addison Demetriou was crowned the Run Nation super cruiserweight champion, with the judges awarding him a 120-113 victory in the main event.
“An incredible turnout at Hordern Pavilion, a sold-out event,” Run Nation founder Tremaine Fernandez said.
“Run Nation is here to stay. RNC3 will be announced very, very soon. To the athletes, incredible work. We’ll see you in Queensland.”
Fernandez told the ABC that Run Nation insisted on competitors making side-on contact instead of head-on collisions.
“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,” he said.
Run Nation and Run It Straight are some of the various versions of the social media trend that has transformed into a fully fledged ‘sport’ in recent years.
The events came under fire last year when a teenage boy Ryan Satterthwaite died from head injuries suffered in a casual ‘run it straight’ game with friends in New Zealand.
Leading sports neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce told news.com.au that it was sadly “only a matter of time” until someone died playing the sport.
“This was a matter of time really as sad as that is to say,” Dr Pearce told news.com.au on Tuesday.
“The concern is that this can happen at any level. Even in the sanctioned ‘run it’ events someone will probably die in that at some point as well.
“It can’t be done safely and when there’s kids and teens that see it they like to copy what they see online, and this is something that absolutely not should be copied.
“It is the biggest please do not try this at home disclaimer if I’ve ever seen one.”
After the teen’s death made waves, RUNIT Championship League organizers released a statement saying they did “not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions.”
Last month, Brisbane Broncos star Kotoni Staggs filmed a Run It Straight-style challenge with a friend, later explaining his friend wasn’t hurt and it was done to promote a skincare company.