What 90,000 Runners Worldwide Are Doing On May 3
The Wings For Life World Run has the world running for spinal cord research.
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Olympian Lindsey Vonn is just one of the more than 90,000 worldwide runners who will be starting the gigantic second annual Wings For Life World Run on May 3, hosted on six continents with 35 different races. This includes two U.S. races in Florida and California.
Alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn is confirmed to participate in the Santa Clarita, Calif., race. The second U.S. race will take place in Sunrise, Fla.
The Wings for Life World Run features a unique “chasing finish line,” where the “catcher cars” start 30 minutes after the global start signal and advance on runners at an accelerating pace. Any runner who is caught by the car is eliminated from the race. This goes on until one man and one woman are left in each of the 35 locations—and eventually in the entire world.
With no real finish, the worldwide champs last year were Lemawork Ketema in Austria and Elise Molvik in Norway, who ran for 48.82 miles and 34.04 miles, respectively before being caught. In the United States, Santa Clarita, Calif., runner Calum Neff (36.36 miles) and Sunrise, Fla., runner Haley Chura (28.34 miles) were the last male and female running before the vehicle hopped on their heels.
The Wings For Life World Run brings awareness and funds to spinal cord injury relief and research. Eric LeGrand, a prominent voice in the community after being paralyzed in a collegiate football game five years ago, serves as an ambassador for the Wings for Life World Run and will be present in Sunrise on Sunday. Team LeGrand of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which was established in 2013, is dedicated to funding research to find a cure for paralysis and to help improve the qualify of life for those affected by spinal cord injuries.
Produced by Red Bull in partnership with the Wings for Life Foundation, this worldwide race debuted last May and raised more than $4.1 million. 100% of the registration fees are dedicated to fund research to cure spinal cord injury.
The Wings for Life World Run will be televised live on Universal Sports Network, starting at 6:30 a.m. EST on Sunday, as well as online at wingsforlifeworldrun.com, starting at 6 a.m. EST.