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164 NATIONS, 34 STARTING LINES – THE
WORLD’S MOST AMAZING RACE
Celebrities, Athletes &The Public Running For Those Who Can’t
May 4, 2014 (Watch for Embeds to watch Live!)
Link: www.
STORY
164 Nations, 34 Starting Lines – The World’s Most Amazing Race
The world will run in harmony on May 4 when runners from 164 nations will be united on
34 different tracks in 32 countries for a single good cause – running for those who can’t. The
starting gun sounds in just 6 days for the Wings for Life World Run — the most spectacular
race ever staged. Tens of thousands of people will take part in the race on Sunday to
raise funds for research into spinal cord injury that will play out simultaneously on
6 continents, in 14 time zones and in all four seasons.
Hobby joggers, celebrities, marathon runners, triathletes and ultra-marathon runners will set
off at precisely the same time (10 am UTC) towards the same end goal – staying in front of
the Catcher Cars as long as possible. Some will be running towards the sunrise, some
will be running into the sunset. Some will be running at night and some starting at noon.
Runners starting in Sonipat, Haryana in India will feel searing afternoon heat of 40 degrees
while runners setting off in Saskatoon, Canada – a distance runner’s paradise in northern
Canada known as the “land of the living skies” — will feel the bitter pre-dawn chill of
between 2 and 10 degrees.
“It’s a race organized to help other people – and no one should miss it,” said Giorgio Calcaterra,
a three-time world champion ultra marathon runner. The Italian is a top favorite and will be
racing in the breathtaking scenery around Verona, Italy. Another top contender is Takahiro
Sunada of Japan, an ultramarathoner who holds the world record for 100 kilometers (6:13.33).
He will be starting in St. Poelten, Austria and running along the Donau River Valley.
The epic endurance event will take runners along some of the world’s most scenic routes.
Runners on the West coast of the United States, setting out in Santa Clarita, California,
will be starting at 3 a.m. local time. The race in Cape Town, South Africa will showcase the iconic Winelands on a route through the idyllic Franschhoek Valley and begins at noon – the same time as in Austria and Barcelona, Spain. Runners in autumnal South
America will be starting before dawn or early in the morning and running towards midday
while runners in Busselton, Australia will set off just after sunset.
The runners will be chasing a dream that one day spinal cord injury can be made a
thing of the past. The aim of the race is to raise funds for spinal cord research. “Running for those who
can’t” is the slogan behind the most incredible sports happening ever that will link runners
of all abilities with state-of-the-art equipment.
There will be no fixed finish line. Instead, a moving finish line will be chasing the runners
from behind. Catcher Cars will start 30 minutes behind the runners and move at the exact
same pace to gradually catch the fields of runners. When the Catcher Car passes a runner,
his or her race is over. The last man and last women standing will be crowned the winners
and will win the grand prize of an extraordinary month-long journey around the world.
Red Bull Racing’s four-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany is
one of the Wings of Life World Run ambassadors and supports the race as does Alpine
skiing champion Lindsey Vonn (USA). Among the world’s best athletes who will take
part are former Formula One racers Mark Webber (Australia) and David Coulthard
(Great Britain), Aksel Lund Svidal (Norway), rugby legend Dan Carter (New Zealand),
windsurfing hero Robbie Naish (USA) and actor-model Wang Li Ya in Taiwan.
(Editor’s note: This is a fun one from Red Bull. They do come up with interesting events
and wrinkles on competition. Simultaneous events have been done before, but, not with this
approach. Would love to see Red Bull put on an elite track meet! Consider Relays with
mixed teams, and mixed sports, and taking on best teams in world as well. Could be fun.)
Author
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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