Wings for Life clipped from Falls
After two successful years in Niagara Falls, the annual Red Bull Wings for Life World Run won’t be returning.
A spokeswoman with Red Bull has confirmed the event will “regretfully” bypass the city, which has been the only Canadian site of the worldwide run the past two years.
This year’s run takes place May 7. No Canadian site has been announced yet.
Taking place in about 35 locations across the globe, Wings for Life pits runners against a ‘catcher car’ which is deployed 30 minutes after the run starts. It travels at 15 km/h to start, eventually reaching 35 km/h. Once it passes a runner, their race is over.
Last year in Niagara Falls, Poland’s Bartosz Olszewski beat the Wings for Life world record of 79.9 kilometres by reaching 82.42 km before the catcher car caught up. It was a shortlived record, however: Later that day, Italy’s Giorgio Calcaterra set the new mark at 88.44 kilometres while running in Milan.
In Niagara Falls, the run started at Kingsbridge Park and wound its way throughout the region. Both years attracted about 750 runners.
It was held in Saskatoon its first year in 2014.
The run is an annual fundraiser for spinal cord injury research.
The cancellation was sour news to Niagara runners like Emily Allan, who was the second-place female runner both years in Niagara Falls.
“Winning in 2017 had been my goal since I saw my results last year,” she said. “For that reason, finding out it’s not coming back is really disappointing.
“It’s a shame the race couldn’t come back, as the word was spreading and it was really growing in popularity.”
Allan will instead turn her attention to the End to End Run in June, encompassing the entire 895-kilometre length of the Bruce Trail over 22 days. She hopes to raise $8,950 ($10 per kilometre) for Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
“TheWingsforLiferacewouldhave been perfect in my training plan, but unfortunately wasn’t an option.”
Niagara Parks Commission chairwoman Janice Thomson said it is “unfortunate” the event won’t be back.
“It is an interesting concept that captures much interest and creates excitement. And for a good cause.”
As of Wednesday, only nine locations had been announced for this year’s Wings for Life event.
Christina Krcevinac of Red Bull Canada said while the event would not be in Niagara Falls this year, local runners could still participate by using a new app on May 7 which simulates being chased by the catcher car. Participants will still appear in the global results list.