Held on May 7th, 2023, a record-breaking 206,728 participants set off for the 10th edition of the Wings for Life World Run with the motto ‘run for those who can’t.’
Spanning 192 nationalities and 158 countries, participants walked or rolled to keep ahead of the Catcher Car – the moving finish line that started 30 minutes after the runners.
Poland’s Katarzyna Szkoda triumphed in the women’s category as she covered 55.07km during the flagship run in Poznań, while Japan’s Jo Fukuda ran 69.01km during the app run in Japan.
During this year’s anniversary edition, runners and wheelchair users covered an average of 11.59km by the time the Catcher Car finished the race for them.
Worldwide, participants ran individually with the Wings for Life World Run App, or they got together at the 239 in-person App Run events. These were held at locations such as the Botanical Garden in Almaty (Kazakhstan), the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City (Mexico), in the port of Barcelona (Spain), in Karura Forest in Nairobi (Kenya) and Sydney (Australia).
Others took part in one of the seven flagship runs in Vienna (Austria), Munich (Germany), Zug (Switzerland), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Zadar (Croatia), Poznań (Poland) and Kakheti (Georgia).
The 2023 edition of Wings for Life World Run also marked a milestone with entry fees and donations totalling €5,802,595, and 100% of all entry fees and donations going directly to spinal cord research.
Anita Gerhardter, CEO at Wings for Life, said “I’m totally overwhelmed, I am happy beyond words, and I am so proud of everyone who helped us to make this happen.
“Having felt the World Run vibes, I know for sure that we will have the power to find a cure for spinal cord injury. If so many people join forces, we will make that happen. So a heartfelt thank you to each and everyone who was part of this race today. Thank you so much. And next year, May 5, it would be great to see all of you at the start line again.”
Since the first event in 2014, over ten years, raising a total of €43.83 million, 1,293,716 people have run a combined 11,839,989km. A total of 276 different projects have also been provided with funding after a strict selection procedure.
Dr Jan Schwab, Scientific Director at Wings for Life, said “I like running. And this run is of particular concern to me. It creates awareness for people who have to live with a spinal cord injury.”
“The millions raised by the Wings for Life World Run every year is important money and enables Wings for Life not only to fund a larger number of projects but also to conduct clinical studies that are more expensive. The run is good news for research.”
He continued “On behalf of the many scientists who have received funding and on behalf of the entire field of research: I’d like to say a big thank you to all participants.”
The 11th edition of the Wings for Life World Run will take place on May 5, 2024.
