Just hours after the online registration deadline passed with more than 90,000 athletes set to compete on Sunday, the numbers for the second Wings for Life World Run really do speak for themselves
Online registration is now closed but with runners all over the world still able to register on-site at one of the 35 global locations and to register via the event’s Selfie Run app, the number will surge higher. Last year 53.000 athletes were registered. (Some of the locations are already sold out. Runners are encouraged to check for on-site registration availability at www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com
The registration numbers for the charity run are impressive enough but a whole array of stats help give a picture of the reach and scale of this truly amazing operation.
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92-year-old Shota Samushia of Georgia is the oldest athlete in the field and several 16-year-olds (the minimum legal age to participate in some locations) will try to evade the Catcher Car, or moving finishing line, as the youngest participants.
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60 percent of the registered runners are male, 40 percent are female
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team NAPR (also) of Georgia has vowed to run 4480km between 501 individual team members
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the race will take place across 12 time zones, ranging from California to Japan
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the temperature ranges are expected to go from the searing heat in India and Dubai at around 40 Celsius (105 Fahrenheit) to a chilly 10 Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) in Russia, Chile and Norway
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eight tons of timing equipment will be used at the global locations
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the energy given off by the athletes pounding the world’s tracks, roads and paths would be enough to provide energy to one household for the next two and a half years
The magnitude of the event is only matched by the live experience it provides. More than six hours of never-seen-before, cutting-edge live TV will enable family members, fans, friends and all those that cannot make it to the event to follow the race at www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com.
Live streams from all 35 locations will be combined to form one impressive live running show which reflects on the spirit that only exists in the world’s most unique global running event and encourages runners and viewers alike to share their experiences with the world.
In addition, a live radio stream which follows all the action in 35 locations around the world will also be provided at www.wingsforlifeworldrunradio.com. In short, it’s a live experience that compares to no other in the world of sports.
But the action doesn’t stop here. Live tracking allows viewers around the world to follow the action up close and personal as the search for the global winner goes on.
The globe-trotting event starts at 11.00 UTC on Sunday May 3 and is a race like no other – uniting the world’s professional and amateur runners alike in a bid to outpace the moving finishing line in the shape of the dreaded Catcher Cars.
One thing is for certain on Sunday, the entire field will be reeled in by the team of pursuing drivers with all the money raised going towards much-needed spinal cord injury treatment and research.
