At 10 AM UTC on Sunday, May 4th, 2014, 50,100 registered participants from 164 nations took part in the “The Wings for Life World Run.” Thirty four long distance routes were set up in thirty two different countries on 6 continents. Because of the start time, some runners sweltered under mid-day heat while others braved the frosty wee hours.
“Run for those who can’t” was the concept embraced by both the runners and the sponsors. 100% of all entry fees went directly to fund spinal cord research. World-class athletes shared the courses with everyday joggers. Ages ranged from 18 to 91 years. The goal was to run as far as possible. Unlike normal races, the finish line followed the participants. Those who had run out of steam were collected by 20km/hour “catcher cars” and driven to post-race areas.
This first Wings for Life World Run was streamed on the Internet, distributed through social media and via selected television coverage in major markets. A staff of 110 timekeepers and organizers as well as over 200 live-feed cameras sent their data/images to the Red Bull Ring F1 circuit in Spielberg, Austria which acted as coordinator for the global event.
One male and one female from each participating country were declared winners along with one overall race winner – Ethiopia’s Lemawork Ketema – who narrowly edged Peru’s Remigo Huaman Quispe to take the honor. Evgenii Glyva of Ukraine came in a close third place and just meters behind the leaders. In total, the distance covered by all participants added up to over 13 laps around the world.
The Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation was founded in 2004 by Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz and two-time motocross world champion Heinz Kinigadner. The foundation’s mission is to find a cure for spinal cord injury – to date they have funded 82 spinal cord research projects worldwide. Their scientists work at well-respected institutes such as Cambridge University (UK), Harvard Medical School (USA), Karolinska Institute (Sweden) and Charité Berlin (Germany). 100% of donations earned are spent on spinal cord research thanks to the generosity of the Red Bull Company who covers all administrative costs.
Spinal cord injury can happen to anyone, anytime. It is estimated that 3,000,000 people worldwide are living with a spinal cord injury. Every year 130,000 more people sustain a spinal cord injury, followed by paralysis. The main causes are: 50% traffic accidents, 25% falls, 16% others (e.g. assault) and 9% sports.
A ‘typical’ patient is male, 33 years of age and with normal life expectancy he will have 40 years living with impairments which impact his ability to control his muscles, feel his limbs and regulate his bodily functions.
Leading Scientists agree that injured neurons are able to regenerate. Spinal cord injury will be curable one day. Besides supporting international research projects to repair an injured spinal cord, Wings for Life also focuses on compensation treatments and studies to reduce secondary damage after an injury.
Wings for Life ambassadors include Formula One driver David Coulthard, Red Bull Racing‘s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. The next race is schedule for May 3, 2015.
Additional information: www.wingsforlife.com
Participating European Countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
Participating North American Countries: Canada, USA Florida, USA Colorado, USA California and Mexico.
Participating South American Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.
Other Participating Countries: South Africa, India, Georgia and Taiw