The International Shooting Sports Foundation (ISSF) announced a new event that will take place this weekend in Germany. The new event, dubbed ISSF World Championship Target Sprint, will combine middle-distance running and the shooting of air rifles. Athletes must run over a 400-meter running track.

Here’s how the ISSF explains the event:

Target Sprint is an exciting combination of air rifle target shooting and middle distance running that requires participants to develop accurate rifle shooting skills and physical fitness. Target Sprint participants are assigned to relays and begin each relay with a mass start and a fixed distance run. At the end of the first run, they stop at a 10-meter air rifle shooting range where they must shoot at and hit five knockdown targets from the standing position. The best athletes do this in a shorter period of time and start their second running stage as soon as all targets are down. More than five shots are often required, but that adds to the shooting time. At the end of the second run, participants must shoot another five targets before beginning the third and final running stage. The winner is the person who completes the three running stages and two shooting stages first.

The event has been tested multiple times over the last four years and is said to attract athletes from other disciplines, such as track and field.

78 athletes from 10 nations will compete in four individual and three team events.

The schedule for this weekend’s events are as follows:

Saturday, June 24th

Target Sprint Women Junior at 5:20 p.m. (UTC+2:00)
Target Sprint Women at 5:40 p.m.
Target Sprint Men Junior at 6:00 p.m.
Target Sprint Men at 6:20 p.m.

Sunday, June 25th

Target Sprint Women Team at 1:30 p.m.
Target Sprint Men Team at 2:00 p.m.
Target Sprint Mixed Team at 2:30 p.m.

Should be interesting – what do you think of Target Sprint shooting?