Knowing that you are being chased by a car gives everyone a rush of adrenaline. The more than 4,000 participants of the Wings for Life World Run running competition in Breda rise above themselves because of this idea. If the car overtakes you, you’re out. The participants will start their flight at 1:00 PM, which will be broadcast live by Omroep Brabant from 12:55 PM.
Live on Omroep Brabant television
Omroep Brabant will be live at the Wings for Life World Run in Breda on Sunday, May 10. This can be followed via TV, radio, website, app and Brabant+. The live broadcast starts at 12:55 PM.
Last year’s edition can be looked back on completely Brabant+.
At exactly 1 p.m. the race is not only in Breda. 211,000 people worldwide participate in the Wings for Life World Run. From Buenos Aires to Honolulu. This can be done during the official Flagship Runssuch as in Breda, but also via a app with which participants participate in their own environment and compete against a virtual Catcher Car. They all start at the same time, but compete against each other under different conditions. As a result, one person walks in the middle of the night, the other in the blazing sun.
The latter certainly applies to the Swedish Aron Anderson. In 2017, he covered more than 92 kilometers in his wheelchair before he was overtaken by the moving finish line, the so-called Catcher Car. That happened in Dubai, where it was over 40 degrees warm at the time. Last year, the Belgian Valentin Poncelet won the edition in Breda. He stayed clear of the Catcher Car for almost 67.5 kilometers and finished fourth in the worldwide rankings.
Investigate spinal cord injury
The participants do this walking for a reason. The registration fee goes to research into spinal cord injury. Last year, a record amount of 8.6 million euros was raised. Because of the charity, a lot of people with a spinal cord injury or other disability participate. That is why many wheelchairs are at the start. Some participants with spinal cord injury walk or run themselves, sometimes with crutches or with support from supervisors.
Catcher Car
The Catcher Car leaves on Sunday afternoon at half past two, half an hour after the start of the participants. Initially the car travels ‘only’ 14 kilometers per hour, but every half hour it increases by one kilometer per hour. After 18 kilometers per hour, the speed increases in steps of four kilometers, up to a top speed of 34 kilometers per hour. The organization expects that the last runners will be caught between five and half past five.
This year the Catcher Car will be driven by former racing driver Robert Doornbos. Last year he shared the support car with skater Kjeld Nuis. This time he will do so with runner Churandy Martina, because Nuis himself is participating. In previous editions, Max Verstappen (2016) and Tim Coronel (2017), among others, were behind the wheel.
Here you can read all the stories about the Wings for Life World Run.
This was the global aftermovie of last year’s Wings for Life World Run:
