Be part of the largest run in history!

In exactly 100 days you have the chance to join a truly global running event together with your friends and family – no matter where they are located. On May 8, 2022, the start signal will sound for the 9th annual edition of the Wings for Life World Run. It is a perfect event to join during the pandemic as you can run, walk or roll all by yourself and at the same time form teams and connect across borders. All participants will be united via the Wings for Life World Run App and the unique Audio Experience, which will inform, entertain and motivate them along the way.

Ambassador and athlete Sandile Mkhize encourages South Africans to come in their numbers this year to fight the battle against SCI in the country “Last year was the first run where I divided to push completely on my own power without the help of running mates to assist on the uphill, so it was by far my most challenging and most rewarding WFLWR yet. This year I am looking to not only be better physically prepared for the race, but to also push harder and further with what I can only hope will be a record-breaking number of participants to raise more money for spinal cord research.” says Sandile. 

With the App or at an organized running event everything is possible

More than 180,000 runners and wheelchair users from 195 nations took part in the Wings for Life World Run 2021, making it the largest ever running event in history. Due to the pandemic situation, the participants all ran separately with the Wings for Life World Run App as their race guide and were chased by the Virtual Catcher Car. In 2022, participants will once again be able to run with the App wherever they are or otherwise choose to take part in one of the organized running events with a defined route. There are eight large-scale Flagship Run events with a real Catcher Car on-site and the so-called Organized App Runs, which are somewhat smaller. Participants join with the App and get chased by the Virtual Catcher Car.

Unique running format: Catcher Car as mobile finish line

All runners and wheelchair users taking part in the Wings for Life World Run will start off on their run at the same time at 11:00am UTC (13:00 SAST) and run or roll as far as they can. There is no set finish line. Instead, 30 minutes after the starting signal, the Catcher Cars will start moving and gradually accelerate to overtake the participants one by one, either in real or virtual form. As soon as the Catcher Car has caught the runner, their personal race is finished. Hence, the truly special thing about the Wings for Life World Run is that everyone is a finisher no matter how far they’ve run!

Inclusive approach: Everyone can take part in the Wings for Life World Run

The starting field at the global charity run is more diverse than at any other run with participants from 195 nations around the world. It features both some of the world’s top athletes alongside novice runners, there are 18-year-olds and some runners who are well into their 80s, there are runners and there are wheelchair users: they are all out on the course together, regardless of their performance level, and in doing so they are all united in supporting spinal cord research. 100% of all entry fees and donations from the Wings for Life World Run go to carefully selected research projects and help find a cure for spinal cord injury. 

“The beauty of the Wings for Life World Run is that absolutely everyone can participate and be part of something really big, that being to find a cure for spinal cord injury: it’s unstoppable,” says Anita Gerhardter, CEO of the not-for-profit foundation Wings for Life. 

Wings For Life World Run South African ambassadors and actors Hungani and Stephanie Ndlovu will be taking part in this year’s run and hope to beat the distance they ran last year, “Being a part of the Wings For Life World Run initiative was such a rewarding experience knowing that our energy and effort was impacting the lives of those who can’t run for themselves. We ran 5km and we are hoping to run more this year.”

Anyone who feels like running in one of the eight Flagship Run locations on May 8, 2022 should register quickly for the run - in order to secure their start number, as the organized events have often sold out early in the past considering the limited capacity. Those who want to take part with an App can now download the Wings for Life World Run App, register and train with the Virtual Catcher Car during a Preparation Run. All information about the Wings for Life World Run and how to participate can be found at www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com.