In 1999, Aaron Baker suffered a spinal cord injury from a motocross accident and doctors diagnosed him as a complete quadriplegic, telling him he had a one in a million chance of regaining any function. In 2001, he defied all odds and pedaled a stationary recumbent trainer. Since then Baker has lived by the motto that ‘the possibilities are endless.’ In 2015, he proved that by walking ¼ of a mile in the Wings for Life World Run.
The idea behind the Wings for Life World Run is simple: get the whole world running.
Executing that idea is a bit more complicated. Imagine coordinating 34 races across six continents that start at the exact same time with over 100 timekeepers and four tons of equipment in 34 ‘Catcher Cars’ using geo-synced GPS systems and RFID technology to record parallel global results. Plus 200 cameras and 34 television feeds to share the event across the world. That’s what will happen on May 8, 2016 when the third Wings for Life World Run takes place.
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The most important number, though, is 100%, in that 100% of the entry fees and donations goes towards the Wings for Life Foundation, which is focused on raising funds and awareness for spinal cord injury research and cure. Everyone running in the World Run is running for those who can’t. That’s why those like Aaron Baker are able to achieve the impossible. And that’s why Aaron Baker is a Wings for Life World Run Ambassador. To defy the odds, to give a face to the name of spinal cord injury.
This is not your average race. Not only is it a high tech race where runners compete worldwide, but it adds another twist. Instead of you chasing a finish a line, the finish line chases you.
Catcher Cars create the finish line when they catch up to the runners. Every runner wears an RFID tag that is encoded with a unique number and each catcher car has a timing controller with attached antennas that detect those RFID tags. The controller forwards data to a notebook with a customized operating system that combines the RFID measurements with the GPS detections. That notebook then sends the data to the scoring servers. The last runner to be caught wins.
Last year that was Ethiopia’s Lemawork Ketema who ran 49.6 miles in Austria. Ketema also won in 2014, beating out the runner in Peru by only 90 meters. After nearly two years of planning and testing technology, not only did the race work, it proved to be an entertaining one!
Day or Night? The only run you can choose! #WorldRun pic.twitter.com/ButIxDpQeO
— WFL World Run (@WFLWorldRun) February 23, 2016
It’s not just the last runner to be caught that creates the excitement, though. Unlike a traditional race where runners are dragging themselves across the finish line, in this race, runners start hauling it the moment they sense the catcher car behind them. The excitement as a catcher car approaches is palpable. As Baker described, ‘it just puts pep in their step and they run as far as they can before the car catches them.’
This unique race concept has caught the attention of more than runners looking for a new challenge. Athletes around the world have come together to champion the cause it supports. Olympians like Lindsey Vonn, Louie Vito, and Mark McMorris, Formula One drivers, surfers, and BMX bikers join those in the spinal cord injury community like Aaron Baker, Cory Hahn, and Eric LeGrand, just to name a few, as ambassadors who work year round to bring awareness to spinal cord injury and the Wings for Life Foundation.
The World Run is their chance to line up at the same start line to make waves in the community. That’s empowering for Baker and inspires him to continue focusing on his recovery and training so he can beat his distance from last year. ‘We have a powerful engine with the Wings for Life World Run platform, bringing together athletes from the adventure sports world and engaging 33 different countries to truly make a difference … that’s momentum you can build on,’ he explains.
In its third year, the World Run will be held in 34 official locations, including two in the U.S. – one in Santa Clarita, CA and the other in Sunrise, FL. Television feeds and monitors at each location will show what’s happening in all the different venues around the world. And for the first time, runners can participate even if they aren’t in one of the official locations. Regardless of where you are, you can join the Selfie Run using the Wings for Life World Run App. Selfie runners will start with the official run at 11am UTC on May 8th and they’ll get a message when the catcher car virtually overtakes them. The data from each runner will be sent to the scoring servers so they can calculate the official Selfie Run ranking.
So whether you’re in an official location or taking part in the Selfie Run, join the most connected race in the world and help find a cure for spinal cord injury. As Aaron Baker noted, ‘one voice is strong, but all of us together makes a hell of a noise.’