Wings for Life World Run
The Wings for Life World Run is a running competition held on the first weekend of May since 2014 to collect funds for the not-for-profit foundation Wings for Life. The entry fee goes completely to the foundation.
| Wings for Life World Run | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | Early May |
| Location | Multiple locations |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Various |
| Established | 2014 |
| Official site | www |
The Wings for Life World Run is peculiar in that participants don't have to run a specific distance like in comparable competitions. A car rides on the track half an hour after the start. Overtaken participants are eliminated until just one, the winner, remains. The run also takes place in 34 or 35 locations around the world at the same time and is broadcast live on Red Bull TV.
The Wings for Life Foundation and the Wings for Life World Run
The not-for-profit foundation Wings for Life was established by the two-time motocross world champion Heinz Kinigadner and the Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2004.[1] Its goal is to find a cure for spinal cord injuries and paraplegia. Therefore, the foundation supports research and studies about spinal cord and spinal cord injuries financially. Anita Gerhardter is CEO. Founder Kinigadner himself is concerned because his brother and his son, both motocross riders too, are bounded to wheelchairs after injuries.[2]
After two years of preparations the first Wings for Life World Run was started on May 4, 2014 to raise funds, at the same time arouse attention on limitations and medical problems of paraplegic persons. Following the success of the first edition the race is now an annual event. According to the official Website the idea to organize a worldwide race where the last man standing would be the winner, came during a lay-over at the airport in Moscow.
The race is open to everybody, professionals as well as members or non-members of running clubs. The entry fee is donated entirely to the foundation, the main sponsor Red Bull covers the costs of the event. The fees vary somewhat depending on the choice of location and the time of sign up. 40.00 GBP are due to take part in Great Britain, 50.00 USD to take part in the United States, but it is also possible to augment the donation during the registration process. So far 3 million and 4.2 million euro of donation have been collected in the two first editions.[1]
The Motto of the race is:
- "Running for those who can’t."
"World" Run
The name Wings for Life World Run comes from the fact that the race takes place in 34 or 35 different locations around the Earth at the same time. That means that runners in Europe or Africa run around noon while participants in Asia and Australia in the afternoon or evening. In the Americas the race is early in the morning or even during the night. In 2021, David Kilgore set an American record for the Red Bull Wings for Life World Run.[3]
The "Catcher Car"
The Wings for Life World Run is outstanding because there is no prescribed distance to cover for example 10 kilometers or 42.195 km like in a marathon. Thus runners of very different levels can equally take part.
100 km are prepared at each location. All participants start at the same time, a so-called "Catcher Car" rides on the track 30 minutes after the start. The speed is 14 km/h at first and increases by 1 km/h every half an hour.[4] From 2014 to 2018 the speed was 15 km/h in the beginning but it was raised only every hour. Once a runner is overtaken by the car, the race is finished for them. Busses bring eliminated participants back to the start area. Thus what counts on the sport side is not the time needed to cover a given distance but the distance covered before the Catcher Car overtakes one.[5]
The last remaining female and male runners at each locations are the local Wings for Life World Run winners and gain the right to start the following year at a location of their choice. The woman and man that ran the longest distance worldwide are the Wings for Life World Run Global Champions and are rewarded with a trip around the world as special prize.[6]
The conditions and tracks vary quite a lot. The Catcher Cars are steered precisely using global satellite navigation hence a comparison between the different locations is nonetheless possible. The following table show how fast the car rides at what time after the start and how far it is at each speed change.
| Time after the start HH:MM | Speed | Equals the distance |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 to 00:30 | 0 km/h | 0 km |
| 00:30 to 01:30 | 15 km/h | 0 to 15 km |
| 01:30 to 02:30 | 16 km/h | 15 to 31 km |
| 02:30 to 03:30 | 17 km/h | 31 to 48 km |
| 03:30 to 05:30 | 20 km/h | 48 to 88 km |
| from 05:30 on | 35 km/h | more than 88 km |
| Time after the start HH:MM | Speed | Equals the distance |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 to 00:30 | 0 km/h | 0 km |
| 00:30 to 01:00 | 14 km/h | 0 to 7 km |
| 01:00 to 01:30 | 15 km/h | 7 to 14.5 km |
| 01:30 to 02:00 | 16 km/h | 14.5 to 22.5 km |
| 02:00 to 02:30 | 17 km/h | 22.5 to 31 km |
| 02:30 to 03:00 | 18 km/h | 31 to 40 km |
| 03:00 to 03:30 | 22 km/h | 40 to 51 km |
| from 03:30 on | 26 km/h | more than 51 km |
References
- KG, Kleine Zeitung GmbH & Co. "Charity-Lauf – Ketema wieder "Wings for Life World Run"-Sieger". Kleine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2016-03-15.
- Schweinberger, Julia. "Motocross: Weltmeister Kinigadner über Schicksalsschläge" (in German). Retrieved 2016-03-23.
- Run, Wings for Life World. "Results". Wings for Life World Run. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- "Catch up with the new Catcher Car speed". www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- "Rulebook – Wings for Life World Run 2015" (PDF). www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
- "World Run Sieger auf Weltreise bei ServusTV". www.servustv.com (in German). Retrieved 2016-03-15.
- "Goal Calculator – Wings for Life World Run". www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com. Retrieved 2016-03-15.