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 Spinal Cord Research. It became the largest running event in 2021 with 184,236 runners participating in one single event. In 2023, the Wings for Life World Run celebrated its 10th anniversary with a record-breaking 206,728 participants.

The Wings for Life World Run is peculiar in that participants don't have to run a specific distance like in comparable competitions. At the Wings for Life World Run, all participants start at the same time, worldwide. It doesn’t matter whether they are professional athletes, fun runners, total beginners or in a wheelchair. There is no traditional finish line. Instead, a "Catcher Car" pursues and passes the runners and rollers, one after the other either physically at one of the Flagship Runs or virtually with the app, will be caught. That makes it the only race worldwide where everyone finishes. The run is broadcast live on Red Bull Tv as well as TV takers all over the world.

Wings for Life World Run
DateEarly May
LocationMultiple locations
Event typeRoad
DistanceVarious
Established2014
Official sitewww.wingsforlifeworldrun.com

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 in 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 paraplegia. Following the success of the first edition the race is now an annual event.

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.Participating is possible in one of the Flagship events or virtually via the Wings for Life World Run app.[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 around the world at the same time - at 11am UTC. 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. Thus runners of very different levels can equally take part.

The last remaining female and male runners worldwide are the Wings for Life World Run Global Champions . 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.

Speed of the Catcher Car from 2014 to 2018 [4]
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
Speed of the Catcher Car since 2019[5]
(and added tiers in 2021[6])
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
03:30 to 04:00 26 km/h 51 to 64 km
04:00 to 04:30[note 1] 30 km/h 64 to 79 km
from 04:30 on[note 1] 34 km/h more than 79 km
  1. added in 2021

Results
Overall World Run Winners
YearCategoryDistanceWinnerNationalityCountry
2023W55.07 kmKasia SzkodaPolishPoland
M69.01 kmJo FukudaJapaneseJapan
2022W56.00 kmNina ZarinaRussiaUSA
M64.43 kmJo FukudaJapaneseJapan
2021W60.16 kmNina ZarinaRussianUSA
M66.85 kmAron AndersonSwedishSweden
2020W54.23 kmNina ZarinaRussiaUSA
M69.02 kmMichael TaylorGBRGBR

References
  1. KG, Kleine Zeitung GmbH & Co. "Charity-Lauf – Ketema wieder "Wings for Life World Run"-Sieger". Kleine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  2. Schweinberger, Julia. "Motocross: Weltmeister Kinigadner über Schicksalsschläge" (in German). Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  3. Run, Wings for Life World. "Results". Wings for Life World Run. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  4. "Rulebook – Wings for Life World Run 2015" (PDF). www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  5. "Goal Calculator – Wings for Life World Run". Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  6. Wings for Life World Run. "FAQs" (in German). Retrieved 2021-09-05.
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