DENVER, May 2 — Registrations for the Wings for Life World Run are now closed, and the countdown has begun. Across the globe, from Denver in the US to Perth in Australia, runners will depart simultaneously on Sunday, May 4 in this atypical race. For runners in the US, the clock will start before sunrise (3.00am in Santa Clarita, CA/4.00am in Denver, CO/6.00am in Sunrise, FL).

For the first edition of the Wings for Life World Run, runners will line up at starting lines in 34 locations on six continents. The event will be an evening run for competitors in Hualien, Taiwan and Jeonnam, South Korea, (departing at 6.00pm and 7.00pm local time respectively), while runners in Hennebont, France and Barcelona, Spain will begin the race at 12.00 noon by their local clocks.

In addition to starting simultaneously in various locations, the race has another quirk: there are no set finish lines. The goal is to stay ahead of the “catcher car” for as long as possible. In other words, the finish line comes to the runners rather than the other way around.

Half an hour after the first runner takes off from the starting line, an official catcher car takes off from each starting line around the world and accelerates at regular intervals. The race ends for a given runner as soon as he or she is overtaken by the catcher car.

All of the proceeds from this international race will be donated to Wings For Life, a research foundation dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injury. — AFP/Relaxnews