35 countries. Six continents. 70,000 runners. One cause. One winner.
On May 3, 2015 at 11 a.m. UTC (aka 7 a.m. EST) I, along with more than 70,000 runners, took part in the Wings for Life World Run, the most interesting race concept I’ve heard of to date.
A quick explanation in layman’s Emily terms:
-There are 35 global races that all start at the same time. While the race in Florida started at 7 a.m., the races in California and Japan started at 4 a.m. and 10 p.m., respectively. I think I had the ideal starting time!
-Everyone keeps running until the “catcher car” passes you. Once that happens, it’s like you crossed the finish line and your race is done.
-The catcher car starts driving 30 minutes after the race starts at a speed of approximately 9.3 mph (increasing every half hour).
-After you’re passed, you’ll wait for a bus to take you back to the start line.
All of this happens at the same time across the world and the last woman and man standing running are declared the Global Champions. Additionally, there are champions for each individual race.
Now onto my race experience…
There were only two races in the U.S., Santa Clara, CA and Sunrise, FL. Sunrise is a good 45 minutes from where I live so I left my place at 5:15 a.m. and got to the start/finish village around 6:15 a.m. where I hung out at the Puma tent and did all the basic pre-run rituals (obligated selfies, port-a-potty stop, triple checked my shoelaces, etc.). Puma has entered into a global partnership with Wings For Life and they provided me with the chic, sporty race day outfit. I don’t dress that well on my own. Oh and another cool fact: 100% of the entry fees go toward finding a cure for spinal cord injury. If you are interested in donating or learning more about spinal cord injury check visit this page!
I didn’t know what to expect going into the race and with my excellent math calculations I assumed I would get in about 5 miles before the car caught me. Joke’s on me…
Since it was a global run, the course was marked in kilometers. Thankfully they listed the miles equivalent underneath or else I would have had to run with a calculator. I actually kept forgetting it was marked in kilometers. A few times in the beginning of the race I saw a marker and thought “oh ANOTHER mile marker, awesome!” and then see that it wasn’t a full mile and cry.
I felt pretty strong the entire race. The heat got to me a bit but it wasn’t as bad as I had expected. I was just not mentally (or physically) prepared to run as far as I did. I hadn’t done a longer run in a few weeks so it was a shock for my body.
I got to the 10k marker and there was no catcher car in sight. Then I got to the 15k marker and still no car. I ended up texting my mom asking her to track the car for me. I got to 17 km (10.5 miles) and started walking on and off until I was passed at 18.73 km or 11.63 miles. I was very happy to be done :) I don’t know my official time yet but the lady next to me had 1 hour and 38 minutes on her watch, which would equal about 8:27 min/mile.
We (the group of runners in my general vicinity and I) were in the middle of nowhere and had to wait 25 minutes for the bus and water. Not the worst thing in the world by any means, especially considering the cause we were running for. The bus ride was a quick 5 minutes back to the start where there was food GALORE. Unfortunately it was not gluten-free food galore. There was even a “Flour Power” food truck…definitely not GF flour. I did grab a banana before heading out and stopping at the market to buy ALL the food. Ok, not all but a lot.
It was a pretty good Sunday if you ask me! Special thanks to Puma and FitFluential for the opportunity to run.
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of PUMA.
First off, LOVE your outfit! And I think that race concept is such a cool idea. I would love to hear how far the world champion made it! That is awesome you made it over 11 miles!
Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie recently posted…Fajita Turkey Tacos
49 MILES (for the man) and 35 for the woman. Basically an ultra marathon. They were in the foreign races!
This is such a cool concept! I’ve never heard of this race but now I want to try it out. That’s crazy that you ran so much further than you originally thought. Great job!
I wish there were more race locations because I think a lot of people would love to participate. I know the blogging community would be all over it ;)
That is the coolest race yet! How awesome! And I love the charity they make it for! How wonderful!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine recently posted…My Beauty Routine For Strength And Confidence
There were a lot of wheelchair participants and those with spinal cord injuries. They even handed out the medals at the end. Loved the concept!
I like that race concept! And also you look adorable even after running.
Hayley @ Full of Life recently posted…Seattle
I wouldn’t look half as good if it wasn’t for my hat. That hides the tangled mess of my hair haha
When I saw your insta about this I was like “Whattt I want to do that!” I love that concept for a race and having no idea how far you’re going to have to run. Great job on running more than double the distance you expected ;)
Sarah @pickyrunner recently posted…Good to be Back
It was seriously awesome and I want to do it again! I wish they had more locations in the U.S.!
That’s a pretty cool concept for a race! Wow, it was kind of a long one! Nice work :)
Emily @ Sweets and Beets recently posted…Best Week Ever Part 2: Best Friends Reunited
I had no idea what to expect! I need to freshen up on my math apparently haha.
Woah, what an awesome race! I’m really curious how far the male and female winners made it. That’d be crazy at the end for them to be basically racing the car!
Liv @ Healthy Liv recently posted…5 Ways to Survive Running in the Heat
The male winner ran 49 miles and the woman 35. INSANE! They were in the European races (and I think they were professional runners).
How funny! I was sent a last minute email asking if I was interested to run the one happening in LA but I live about 3 hours north and was scheduled to work that day :( I’m glad I got to vicariously live through your post though, it looks like it was a fun one!
Lacey @ Runs and Roses recently posted…8 Ways to Combat Loneliness
I heard about this race on a podcast last year, and I’m so bummed there’s no Midwest location! The concept is so cool and unique, I would love to do it. (Plus it’s seems like the Eastern time zone gets a good start time!)
Rebecca @ MyEagerFeet recently posted…Weekly Training Recap: 4/26 – 5/2
Congrats! That sounds like such a great race (also amazing pace!) I kind of like the idea of going into a race without knowing how long you’re going to run. Sometimes I play those kind of games with myself (tell myself I’m running 3 miles and actually do 5)
Georgie recently posted…What I Ate Wednesday: Control Issues
Thank you! I originally did played that game too. I told myself I was running a 10k…and then a 15k…and then I was like “um when is this over?”