Wings for life world run
Running for those who can't
- BBG Runners Group participates for the first time
Mindelheim/Germany, 8 May 2018. Under the motto "Running for those who can't", more than 100,000 people joined the global "Wings for life world run“ on 6 May 2018.
At 1 p.m. German time, the runners started all at exactly the same moment on six continents and in 66 countries, with the BBG Runners Group being amongst them. Entry fees and donations totaled 4.2 million euros. The funds raised go directly to the Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation, whose mission it is to find a cure for spinal cord injury.
The special thing about this run is the moving finish line. Thirty minutes after the race starts, a so-called "Catcher Car" begins to chase runners along the course. The Catcher Car gradually gets faster at predetermined intervals and acts as a "moving finish line". Depending on their personal fitness level, every participant runs for another distance.
Team BBG running on two continents
The BBG team from Mindelheim/Germany consisted of nine runners, who participated in the Wings for life run at Munich. Thomas Birzele, area manager for electrical assembly, is one of them. He is an avid runner and participated in a half-marathon for the first time last year. In addition to social commitment, he is above all motivated by the team-building experience. "The charity run is a great opportunity to build cohesion in the team and to get to know co-workers from other departments also outside working hours," says Birzele. He even exceeded his goal of 20 km. The Catcher Car caught up with him at kilometer 23.32.
The three runners from BBG North America proved real early birds. For them, the race started at 7 a.m. local time. In contrast to the team in Germany, the BBG team in the USA participated through the App-Run. They ran through the Creek Metro Park, which is close to the BBG location at Oxford/Michigan. "For me running is more of a walking exercise", explains Susanne Hartmann, office manager at BBG North America. "Riding my bicycle, hiking or walking in nature greatly helps me to unwind after long office hours. The good cause of the Wings for Life World Run is an additional source of motivation for me."
All in all, the 12 participants of the BBG Runners Group covered a distance of 148.8 km, thus coming in at rank 464 of the 2,383 teams that participated in the race.
The BBG team members are already looking forward to next year's run. They want to be on board again, motivate even more co-workers to join in and cover an even larger distance together.