Registration is officially open for the 11th edition of the Wings for Life World Run. Set for Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 11:00am GMT, runners and wheelchair users from across the world will hit the ‘start-line’ to connect in a unique format.
Whether participants run, roll in a wheelchair, jog or simply walk, everyone in the Wings for Life World Run starts at exactly the same moment, 11:00 am GMT.
Participants don’t run towards the finish line – they run away from it – as they are chased by the event’s signature ‘Catcher Car’, either virtually or in person. The Catcher Car gives a 30-minute head start and when this moving finish line passes by, the race has been completed your race, with the last man and woman to be caught named the global champions.
The event organising team notes that… ‘The moving finisher-line format means that everyone, no matter their fitness level, can be sure of finishing the race. All you need to do is start!’
With 100% of entry fees and donations going to spinal cord research all participants will be helping to find a cure for spinal cord injury.
“I’m so excited that registration is opening for 2024,” said Colin Jackson, former elite British hurdler and the event’s International Sports Director.
“In the previous edition of the Wings for Life World Run we had a record number of participants, and our goal is to see even more people on the starting line next May.”
Held on May 7th, 2023, this year’s event saw a record-breaking 206,728 participants set off for the 10th edition of the Wings for Life World Run. Spanning 192 nationalities and 158 countries, participants walked or rolled to keep ahead of the Catcher Car.
Colin Jackson continued, “We’re thrilled that this is the largest running event in the world, and we’re extremely proud of our participants, because each new registration brings real hope to everyone affected by spinal cord injury.”
The Wings for Life World Run is accessible to everyone through virtual and in-person events. Individual results will count equally on the global leaderboard thanks to the Wings for Life World Run App.
For those wanting to be physically chased by the catcher car, there will be events in Austria, Croatia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland and the Netherlands where a celebrity driver will be at the wheel.
Participants in the UK can take part virtually using the app or join one of the in-person app runs taking place around the UK. Locations include Battersea Park in London, Philips Park in Manchester and Warwick University in central England, with new runs being added right up until race day.
Since the first Wings for Life World Run in 2014, the event has so far raised over €43.8 million, with 1,293,716 registered participants covering 11,839,989km in over 195 countries across all seven continents.
In the UK, the cost of entry in 2024 will be £22. The event is the primary fundraiser for the not-for-profit Wings for Life foundation, which funds spinal cord research and clinical trials.
Everyone who registers – no matter where or how you choose to run – will receive the official Wings for Life World Run adidas t-shirt.
Did you know Challenge Family joins the run every year with a team of organization members and athletes from all over the world? Also in 2024 there will be a Challenge Family team participating in the Wings for Life World Run.
