FAQs and Contact

The Wings for Life World Run is a global charity race held in May every year. The motto is to run for those who can’t. You will be helping a worthy cause when you take part as 100% of your entry fees goes to the not-for-profit organization Wings for Life and helps to find a cure for spinal cord injury.

The run is unique as thousands of people across the world take part at exactly the same time – either running at a Flagship Run or connected with the App.

One more cool thing is, that you get a chance to see how far you can run, without any pressure. There is no set distance. Instead, a moving finish line called Catcher Car pursues you at an increasing speed! Only when it catches you will your run be over, and you can celebrate.

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

On Sunday, May 4, 2025 at 11.00 am UTC (13.00 CEST).

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

The state-approved Wings for Life charitable foundation. Worldwide, millions of people are suffering from the impact of a spinal cord injury. In over half of cases, these injuries are caused by a traffic accident or a fall. They can affect anybody. Wings for Life has made finding a cure for spinal cord injury its aim. Since 2004, Wings for Life has funded research projects and clinical studies around the globe.

If you would like to donate to Wings for Life, you can do so via the donation function on the foundation's website www.wingsforlife.com Thank you!

100% of entry fees and donations goes to research projects supported by Wings for Life. Check out information about specific research projects here.

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

This activation is only for private participants and it's valid from January 24th 2025, 11:00 am UTC to January 31st 2025, 11:00 am UTC

Register for the Wings for Life World Run App Run and double the fun because Philips Headphones will sponsor a voucher for a friend to join you for all the App Run fun.

First, sign up for the Wings for Life World Run App Run here. Please note that this activation is not valid for Flagship Runs.

Together with your confirmation e-mail, you will receive an additional voucher code for the App Run. Thanks to our partner Philips Headphones who will sponsor your additional voucher.

Join us now and have fun running together.

Anyone aged 16 and over. We have a very diverse field of participants. Taking part are runners and wheelchair users, beginners and professionals of all ages. You will see that this is exactly what gives the Wings for Life World Run such a unique atmosphere.

For the following three countries only, the minimum age is 18: USA, Canada and Croatia.

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

You have two options: Either you take part at a Flagship Run or you run with the App. Join our community here.

Vouchers are a great gift! Getting them is easy. Do it here.

Thank you for being part of the Wings for Life World Run Community. Unfortunately, it is not possible to switch due to organizational matters. We hope to see you at the starting line to run for those who can’t and always keep in mind that 100% of all entry fees go towards spinal cord research.

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

Thank you for being part of the Wings for Life World Run Community. Unfortunately, it is not possible to switch due to organizational matters. We hope to see you at the starting line to run for those who can’t and always keep in mind that 100% of all entry fees go towards spinal cord research.

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

This is not possible but if you are registered and the Wings for Life World Run cannot take place, you will receive an email from us with all the relevant information that you need to know. If you have any further questions, please contact us via our contact form.

The best time to register is now, here.

For the Flagship Runs you can register until 11:00 am UTC (13:00 CEST) on May 1, 2025, but if there are no places left, you can’t register.

You can register for running with the App until race day, May 4, 2025, at 10:00 am UTC (12:00 CEST).

Yes, all of the details you entered when you registered can be changed later. Just contact us here so that we can make the changes for you.

It's already open. If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

Unfortunately not, due to organizational reasons. 100% of all the registration fees go straight to spinal cord injury research. Even if you can't run, you are still contributing to a great cause!

The Wings for Life World Run is an endurance event with no set distance. Different locations and countries can have different conditions. Generally the minimum age is 16 for running with the App or running at a Flagship Run. 

For the following three countries only, the minimum age is 18: USA, Canada and Croatia.

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

Your credit card provider may charge additional fees that will be deducted from your account as well.

The Wings for Life World Run starts at 11.00 am UTC (13.00 CEST). 30 minutes later, the Catcher Car will begin its pursuit. There is no actual finish line. You keep running until the Catcher Car reaches you. Then you've completed the race, and it’s time to celebrate 🙂 If you want to set a personal goal, the Goal Calculator can help you.

In a Flagship Run, you run a predetermined route like in other running events. However, there is no finish line that you run toward. You run as long as you can or want to. Here's how it works: 30 minutes after the start, Catcher Cars start chasing the participants. Behind the wheel are celebrities, athletes or Wings for Life World Run Ambassadors like David Coulthard. Once they catch you, your race is over.

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

There’s only one Global Result List – doesn’t matter whether you run at a Flagship Run or an App Run. Results at Flagship Runs are determined by experienced timing companies. In case you’re participating with the App, the App will transmit your running data and send it to Global Race Control. You’ll find the official result list on the website.

11:00 UTC - The Wings for Life World Run starts

11:30 UTC - Catcher Car starts at a pace of 14 km/h (8.69 mph)

12:00 UTC - Pace increases to 15 km/h (9.32 mph)

12:30 UTC - Pace increases to 16 km/h (9.94 mph)

13:00 UTC - Pace increases to 17 km/h (10.55 mph)

13:30 UTC - Pace increases to 18 km/h (11.2 mph)

14:00 UTC - Pace increases to 22 km/h (13.7 mph)

14:30 UTC - Pace increases to 26 km/h (16.2 mph)

15:00 UTC - Pace increases to 30 km/h (18.6 mph)

15:30 UTC - Pace increases to 34 km/h (21.1 mph)

Yes, you can. And it's super easy.

1. Login to the profile you want to keep
2. Select edit personal data
3. Scroll to the merge account button
4. Click the button and follow the steps

You just need the email address or social platform you used for your other Wings for Life World Run account. The rest, we do for you.

After you've merged the information and data you want to keep into your main account, we transfer the old data and close your old profile. You can even bring your race registration to your main account before you transfer your old account (if you haven't registered already from the new account).

Yes. You just have to confirm by email the details you want to merge. It's all very easy.

1. Login to the profile you want to keep
2. Select edit personal data
3. Scroll to the merge account button
4. Click the button and follow the steps
5. Confirm the changes when the email arrives

No, but it's easy to merge old account to your new account profile one by one.

It's possible that you have race registrations through both accounts. If you've registered for the next Wings for Life World Run in two accounts, you need to contact our Service Desk, and we'll sort it out for you quickly. It's not possible to automatically merge accounts that both have race registrations.

Yes. Merging your account takes your team registration with you – even if you're the team captain.

Yes, you can switch between an App Run Event location and an individual App Run. And you can switch App Run Event locations as often as you want.

In the Wings for Life World Run App, just go to the Locations tab, find the App Run Event location you want, select it, then tap Switch Location, and confirm. All done! You’re all set to race at your favorite App Run Event location.

Important: If you want to run at an official App Run Event location, you have to switch to the location before race day—they all have limited spaces.

If you want to switch from an App Run Event location back to individual App Run and race wherever you are, open the App, go to the Locations tab, and scroll to Run Wherever You Are at the bottom. Select it, click Switch Location, and confirm to race wherever you want.

You’ll be on the official start and Global Results List whether you’re in an App Run Event or an individual App Run—just make sure you’re registered for the Wings for Life World Run.

Note: You can’t switch between a Flagship Run and any version of the App Run.

Yes, anyone can organize an App Run Event: individuals, companies, organizations. The process and requirements are the same for everyone.

If you choose to sponsor your App Run Event too, you can have your company logo on the App and your App Run Event landing page on the Wings for Life World Run website. See our App Run Event Manager for the sponsorship guidelines.
So you can promote your company’s App Run Event, you can use our poster and flyer generator to create branded activation material using your own company logo and your partners’ logos.
Please, always use the official wording in all instances: Wings for Life World Run 2025 App Run Event + LOCATION.

We’re excited to see your App Run Event take shape! Get started here

In general for the App Run you have the option of running individually, or you can join an App Run Event near you. You'll start at the same time as everyone else in the world and will be chased by a virtual Catcher Car. Your App will keep you updated by telling you how far ahead you are and telling you when you are eventually caught. Then your race is over, and you'll see your result on the Global Result List. Why not give it a go? Register here.

We suggest to check the App, your registration and all settings latest on Saturday to make sure you are fully set for Race Day. On Sunday we highly recommend to be ready to race latest 15 minutes before the race starts. The Audio Experience starts 15 minutes before the start and after the countdown it's time to run for those who can't! See you on the virtual start line. Run responsibly!

As long as your GPS signal is working the catcher car will chase you anyway. As soon as you have Internet again, your data will be synchronized and you will be able to look at your result and share it. Despite that we highly recommend to have internet anytime.

Of course! You can buy them here.

No. The run starts for everyone worldwide at the same time, 11am UTC.

No, on Race Day you don't need to press start after the countdown. Simply start to run for those who can't. Good luck for your race and see you on the virtual starting line. Run responsibly!

No, we'll take care of that for you. Please let us know via the App Run Event Manager that you would like to cancel your App Run Event. In this case, we will contact all the participants of your run and invite them to run individually on Race Day. If you have any further questions, please contact us anytime via our contact form.

Please go to our contact form on our website and reach out to us. We are happy to help you.

It's really great that you're considering organizing a run! First of all, look for a suitable location – a park or a similarly safe running route with no traffic. Then list your run on the website so that it is visible to everyone. It's simple. You can find more tips here. We hope your run has a lot of participants. Thank you very much!

With the App's new Audio Experience feature, you can cheer on your favorite Wings for Life World Runner from home.

This feature is available from Saturday, May 3 2:00 pm UTC (20 hours before race start)

Just go to our website, search for the person you want to cheer for. There choose cheering audio snippets or record our own. The cheering messages will play to your Wings for Life World Runner at points during the race.

Try this:

1. Check your phone speaker or headphones work by playing a song using a different app. If you hear nothing, your phone’s speaker or headphones don’t work — it’s a hardware issue we can’t help with. Sorry!
2. Check your browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox) isn’t playing an audio stream. Just close all apps so your Wings for Life World Run App is the only app open
3. Check you have downloaded the Audio Experience package properly. Try restarting the App or restarting your phone
4. Change the Wings for Life World Run App’s audio settings. Open the App, go to Account> Settings and choose the language you want (heads up: It can take a few minutes to download the package). Restart the App or restart your phone
5. Android only: Make sure your audio channel is switched on and the volume is loud enough to hear

Easily! Just log in to the team captain’s Wings for Life World Run account and open the team profile (this only works from the team captain’s account).

Head to ‘record the audio stickers/messages’ section, where you’re asked to record 4 audio stickers for the big race moments:

1. at the start
2. as the Catcher Car starts
3. when the Catcher Car is 3km from the participant
4. when the participant gets caught

If you don’t want to record any messages, you can upload an audio file or use our 3 default audio messages. Recording is open between April 22 11:00 am UTC and May 3 11:59 pm UTC.

There could be several reasons. Try these steps.

First, make sure it’s not a hardware issue by recording with a different device. Also check no other device — like a beamer or sound speaker — is connected to your laptop.

If it’s not a hardware issue, try a different browser (Safari for Apple devices, Firefox for other devices).

If you use Chrome make sure you’ve given the browser access to your microphone. Here’s how to check:

1. Open Chrome
2. In the top right, click More (3 dots) and choose Settings
3. Click Privacy and security then Site settings
4. Select Microphone
5. Select the built-in microphone and give permission for sites to use your microphone
6. Review your blocked and allowed sites to check Wings for Life World Run isn’t blocked. Remove the block it if it is
7. Restart the browser and try to record again

The audio experience will be available in race week. You only need it for the race. Until race week, all the audio settings will stay gray. If it’s still gray in race week, update your App.

adidas Running Premium membership is paid access to additional exclusive features in the adidas Running app. With Premium, you have full access to all adidas training plans, ranging from keep fit, weight loss and beginner running programs to race preparation. You also get advanced statistics, personal records and auto Pause only in Premium.

When you sign up for the Wings for Life World Run 2025 until December 31, 2024, at 11:00 am UTC, you get 6 months of Premium membership free.
And the last day to sign up in the adidas Running App for the Premium membership is January 15, 2025.

Download the adidas Running App, enter the link from your email, sign in or register for a new account and you’re a Premium member. Simple. Your link is valid until January 15, 2025.

If you registered before November 6, 2024, your link arrived latest on November 6, 2024.
If you registered up from November 6, 2024 until December 31, 2024, your link is in your Wings for Life World Run registration email.

Note: the adidas Running App is not available in China, Russia, Korea, or Sudan.

When you sign up for the Wings for Life World Run 2025 until December 31, 2024, at 11:00 am UTC, you get 6 months of Premium membership free.
And the last day to sign up in the adidas Running App for the Premium membership is January 15, 2025.

Download the adidas Running App, enter the link from your email, sign in or register for a new account and you’re a Premium member. Simple. Your link is valid until January 15, 2025.

If you registered before November 6, 2024, your link arrived latest on November 6, 2024.
If you registered up from November 6, 2024 until December 31, 2024, your link is in your Wings for Life World Run registration email.

Note: the adidas Running App is not available in China, Russia, Korea, or Sudan.

adidas Running Premium membership is paid access to additional exclusive features in the adidas Running app:

• personalized training plans
• interval training
• access to all Story Runs
• personal records
• activity challenges
• pace targeting
• workout goals: define a goal for an activity (distance & duration, calories)
• power-song playlists
• activity stats (dehydration, max. elevation, av. heart rate, max. heart rate)
• history (sort by week/year/all)
• advanced stats (sorting and comparing by week/month/year/all)
• bar charts (duration & calories in the statistics screen)
• session detail expanded map (colored traces for pace/elevation/grade)
• split table-segment by distance/duration
• edit heart rate zones
• detailed goal statistics

And check out the exclusive Wings for Life World Run 6-week training plans in the adidas Running app.

Yes. You need to sign up for the Wings for Life World Run 2025 before December 31, 2024, at 11:00 am UTC to get your free 6-month adidas Running Premium membership.

After signing up for the run, you get a link to claim your free adidas Running Premium membership. This link is valid until January 15, 2025. So as soon as you have the link, download the adidas Running app, login or create a new account, click on the link you received and you automatically become a Premium member. That’s all.

Note: the adidas Running App is not available in China, Russia, Korea, or Sudan.

Your Wings for Life World Run App uses your phone's GPS and other location services to work out your distance – it’s usually very accurate. But every smartphone comes with a different set of features and the Wings for Life World Run is for fun – if the app’s distance is slightly different to your tracker, sport watch or map’s, it’s not the end of the world. 

To give the app the best chance of being accurate, keep it updated – we regularly release accuracy-improving versions. A full refresh is the best way to avoid issues. Simply delete the app and download it again.

There’s also a checklist to follow in the app to help you properly configure your location settings.

You just need a smartphone that runs the Wings for Life World Run App, using one of these operating systems:

• iOS (iPhone): iOS 17.0 or any newer/updated version
• Android: Android 10 or any newer/updated version

Huawei: We cannot support newer Huawei phones as they do not have the Google Play Store. If you have an old Huawei with the Google Play Store and the Wings for Life World Run App, we recommend you delete and redownload the Wings for Life World Run App to make sure you have the latest version— this way you are less likely to have problems on Race Day. If you can’t download the App, your phone is not compatible with the Wings for Life World Run App. Please don’t run with an older version of the Wings for Life World Run App on Race Day, as this may cause technical problems for your race.

The Wings for Life World Run App is only available for iOS 17.0 (iPhone) or Android 10 or newer. In case your mobile phone runs on an older operating system please update it.

For 2025 only Flagship Run participants will get an official adidas Wings for Life World Run T-shirt. Participants of Flagship Runs can collect their official adidas T-shirt together with their start number at the Flagship Run location.

If you’re not registered yet, better do it now, here.

Easy! You’ll collect your official adidas Wings for Life World Run T-shirt with your start number at your Flagship Run location. Be proud to wear your official adidas T-shirt to show you’re running for those who can’t.

No, unfortunately not. You need to collect your T-shirt and your start number on race day at your Flagship Run location.

You can buy all the official Wings for Life World Run merchandise in the Red Bull Shop, here. And the great news is all the money for it goes directly to Wings for Life.