Wings for Life World Run

On May 7th 2023 I signed up for a race with a unique style - there was no finish line. Instead, you keep running till a car catches you, and then your race is over. Last person standing wins. "What could this possibly be?'" you ask - this is the Wings for Life World Run. Let me explain.

I was back visiting London for a few weeks during my year abroad, and took part in the 10th Wings for Life World Run (shortened to WFL from now on). WFL is the biggest running event in the world in terms of the number of participants, as the race happens at the same time all over the world in various locations. I was originally meant to be running the race in Melbourne, but realised my flight was booked the day before - not to worry, London's Battersea Park provided an amazing location to race at! Over 160,000 participants took part in this years WFL. Wings for Life is a not for profit organisation for spinal cord research, with 100% of the proceeds from this race going to research. This is because Red Bull and other partners cover all the administrative costs.

Pre-race prep

Due to WFL being a global running event and starting at exactly the same time around the world, in London it meant the race kicked off at noon. Usually half marathon races and other long distance events start early in the morning, but the late start allowed me to have a bit of a lie in and rest after a 24 hour flight back home! The meet up point was in Battersea Park, at the athletics track. There my mates and I registered, and there was also the option of storing your bags which was handy. The atmosphere building up was great - there was a live DJ mixing tunes from the top of a 4x4 SUV, plenty of free Red Bull to go around and everyone in the running community was in a good mood! The sun was out, and the weather was ideal for running. Despite the Battersea Park race itself being relatively small in terms of numbers, the atmosphere said otherwise.

Race recap

The race start line was on the athletics track, and we had to complete 4 laps on the track before venturing out into the Park. The remainder of the race was then up to you where you wanted to run, but was advised that when you're close to finishing (i.e., the chaser car is almost about to catch you), you return to the track to finish there.

I should now explain what I mean by the 'catcher car'. 30 minutes after you set off, either a virtual (via the app) or physical (in some locations) chaser cars sets off, following your route and travelling at a certain speed. As time goes on, the pace of the car increases. You are essentially running from the car, and when the car catches you the race ends. On the WFL website there's a handy calculator to figure out how far/long you'll be able to run before the car catches you in theory. I was aiming to run at least 10 miles (or 16km) on the day.

Turns out, I was running at a lot faster pace than I had originally planned, but it was going well and I was feeling in form. I think running with others helped distract you from the fatigue in your leg, and the flat course meant it was ideal to run at a quick pace. The half marathon distance therefore came into sight, and I decided I would go and push for that length. Prior to this run, by PB for a half was 01:57:31. This time, I had a new PB, at 01:43:31! Very happy with that result, and honestly a lot quicker than expected. Up until mile 11 I was going strong, with only the last 2 miles feeling like a bit of a chore. I think the chaser car actually caught me just before my half marathon distance, but I was so close to the 13.1 mile mark I finished it off.

Post race

You never really know how you feel finishing a race, but immediately after my legs turned to jelly for a bit. I made sure I topped up on the hydration (I took on water at mile 5 and 10 during the race too), and ate some bananas and granola bars which always taste 10x better after a run. Some runners still hadn't been caught by the chaser car, so we stayed out on the track to cheer them on along with everyone else. Can't forget walking (more like hobbling) to the tube station to catch the train home.

Things to note:

A couple of side points I thought I would include based off this race:

Invest in a sport armband to hold your phone if you are planning on running with it - WFL required us to have our phones to track the distance and time, so I found using an armband really convenient to store my phone. It means you don't have to hold it awkwardly in your hand.
Track vs road running - the benefit of having access to a 400m track during this race was that you could utilise the 'springiness' of it compared to road running. Every couple of miles we would return to the track and do a couple of laps - it's much easier to run on and was exclusively for this event.
Suns out, caps out - Remember that 'nice' weather may not be so nice for running. The sun was out on race day, so I made sure to wear a cap and take on extra hydration as you do sweat more. Always check the weather forecast the day before and dress accordingly.

Last thing, shout out to Amaan & Saran for giving me company on the run and also setting PBs, and to Shivam for coming to support us on the day! Wings for Life - completed it mate!

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