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.

The Wings for Life World Run is particular 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.

Another characteristic is that the run takes place in 34 or 35 locations around the Earth at the same time.

The Wings for Life World Run is broadcast live on Red Bull TV.

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. Its goal is to find a treatment 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.

After two years of preparations the first Wings for Life World Run was started on May 4, 2014 to raise funds and 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.

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Wikipedia