Wings for Life World Run

Sunrise Sports & Entertainment will host the ‘Wings for Life World Run’ on Sunday, May 4, 2014 at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The event is part of a simultaneous global run, taking place in 30 countries across six continents, all in support of bringing awareness to spinal cord injuries and to fund research for finding a cure. Sunrise will be one of three cities in the United States hosting the run, along with Denver, CO and Santa Clarita, CA.

Unlike other races, this global event has no fixed distance or finish line and every runner around the world, from part-time joggers to top professional runners, will start at the exact same time.

Thousands of runners will set off on May 4 at 10 AM UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). The race in Sunrise begins at 6 AM EST at BB&T Center and will wind through Sunrise and Weston before running along the Florida Everglades. Registration is currently open at www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com through 8 PM EST Sunday, April 20.

“We are honored to be a part of the Wings For Life World Run,” said SSE Vice President of Event Programming, Kevin Grove. “This is for an extremely worthy cause that affects millions of people worldwide, and we are fortunate to help raise awareness and funds to help find a cure.”

With no set distance or finish line, participants in the Run will be pursued by a moving finish line known as the ‘catcher car.’ Thirty minutes following the start of the race, all catcher cars worldwide will begin advancing through the racecourse at the same pace. A participant’s race ends once the catcher car overtakes the participant. Results will be based on distance rather than time. The male and female runners in each race who cover the most distance before being overtaken by the catcher car will be crowned as local champions of the Wings for Life World Run. The final male and female runners across all runs will be the global champions. This will be the inaugural race, with plans to host future Runs around the world.

Among those taking part in stateside runs will be ski racing champion Lindsey Vonn, windsurfing icon Robby Naish, ex-Formula One driver David Coulthard, world class ultrarunner Karl Meltzer, and many other sporting heroes who have each volunteered as event ambassadors.  

"I'm inspired by the Wings for Life World Run and what they are trying to accomplish, which is finding a cure for spinal cord injuries," said Vonn. "This is an opportunity for everyone to be part of a global race – and run for those who can't."

It is estimated that 3,000,000 people worldwide are living with a spinal cord injury. Every year, 130,000 more sustain a spinal cord injury, followed by paralysis – the main cause being traffic accidents. The advances in research are largely based on private initiatives. As a non-profit organization based in Austria, the Wings for Life Foundation relies on support and donations to help fund this research. Wings for Life is set up to ensure that a guaranteed 100% of all donations it receives are used exclusively for promising research projects.