Wings for Life World Run

Wings for Life World Run. We run for those who can't.

It all started with a simple but exciting idea that was born while waiting for a plane in one of the Moscow airports. What if we make so that the whole world runs together?

Literally all around the world, in one day, at the same time. What if you make the incredible scale of the competition with only one winner? Real world run. Would it succeed? It did!

Please, let me introduce you Anita Gerharter, head of the charity Fund Wings for Life, which sets a goal to find a cure for spinal cord and spine injuries.
It took two years for preparations for the first run of Wings for Life World Run — during this time there was another unexpected detail added to the original idea of a worldwide competition.
Equipped with sensors automobiles-catchers need to "chase" the participations of run, because they don`t run to the finish line, they run from it, that literally chases them their hotfoot.

Pushing the boundaries

When we finally decided what should be the format of the race, we began to cudgel our brains how to be with car-catchers.

To record the results of thousands of athletes around the world, and not to make mistakes, we needed an absolutely new tracking system. To prevent a running for a long time we made a decision that car-catchers will increase the speed through a certain period of time. it will continue until the latest participant will be "caught".

The conquest of the world

On May 4, 2014 judges-timekeepers, tech staff, public relations specialists — sat there all as one, afraid to move once again, in the headquarter of the run in the Austrian town of Spielberg.

There have never been so quiet for many months as quiet as it is this last and infinitely long seconds before the start.
All participants were worried, how could it be. Still we have been preparing to this moment for two years.

As soon as the running began, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
And smiled. There were enough good reasons to smile.

From all over the world in the "control center" of the running there were “pouring” lots of public numbers, photos, videos, history.

It was the day of personal victories. For the runner, that was «catched» first in the French Inbone, for the "dancing lady in pink" from Austria, and for teams from Australia and South Africa, from Canada and Poland, which managed not only to run, but also to share the latest news in social networks.

At the beginning the run Wings for Life World Run was conceived to combine as many people as possible, so everyone who wanted ran for those who cannot do it, at the same time around the world.

Therefore, in 2015, there was made a new function - Selfie Run in the app of Annex Wings for Life World Run. Thanks to this option people have an opportunity to take part in the run even if they can't get any of the items of the competition.

Hundreds of runners enjoyed the new function— from the Arctic to the Canadian prairies.
 Daniel Riccardo, the racer of "Formula-1", was among them.
Australian athlete was running alone on the roads of Monaco and managed to overcome 12,56 km. He wore the honorary first number on his chest.

Those runners, who still managed to get to the official start, were surprised to find that along with there were running world celebrities.
 So, Mark Webber, another Australian  racer of "Formula-1", started in the British Silverstone.
Borut Pahor, the president of Slovenia, could be seen at the distance in Ljubljana and Abdulaziz Turki al-Faisal, the UAE Prince , was spotted in the event.

Far is better

However the most interesting things the organizers kept for the ending.
It turned out that cars-catchers were driven by real starship trooper.

You can only image astonishment and happiness of the runners – they were really ready to fall out of the race, but it turned out that on the latest meters they were supported by David Coulthard ,the ex-racer of "Formula-1". Or by a five-time champion of the "Dakar" rally-marathon Marc Coma. Or, for example, by a skydiver Felix Baumgartner.

Parade of Champions

Norwegian Elise Molvik was the first national champion  in the history of the run Wings for Life World Run, who overcame 54,79 km.
There was a struggle for the title of an absolute champion among participants from South African Eric Ngubane, and  Italian Giorgio Calcaterra, and American Michael Wardian — the marathon runners were separated by thousands of kilometers.

However, both times the winner was Limework Ketema from Ethiopia.

And both times he got the victory in a heavy distant struggle with Peruvian Remigio Quispe.

And in 2015 the first national champion was the man on the invalid carriage.

Aaron Anderson overcame 64,82 km, and it  was more than enough to leave behind all other runners in Sweden.

The charity run Wings for Life World Run was attended by 136 thousand 677 people for two years.

The run was held in more than 40 locations.

The mutual efforts of the participants of the run gathered more than 7 million euros.  This money went to Fund programs for the research study of spinal cord injuries around the world.

What's next?

At the beginning the run «Wings for Life World Run» was a living organism that grew and developed in unexpected ways.

The aim of the run is to make so that in all corners of the earth you could run for those who can't do it.

Because each member of the run  brings an invaluable contribution to the search for remedies for spinal cord injuries treatment.