Wings for Life World Run marks 12th edition with record-breaking participants worldwide

The 12th edition of the Wings for Life World Run has set a new attendance record with a record-breaking 310,719 participants worldwide, reaffirming its place as the world's largest global running event. 

The 12th Wings for Life World Run event helped to raise a phenomenal event record of €8.6 million, 100% of which will go to vital research and clinical trials to find a cure for spinal cord injury.

'Running for those who can’t' - for the 12th time, this motto united the world when professional athletes, fun runners and total beginners all around the globe participated in the Wings for Life World Run. At 9pm AEST 310,719 participants from 191 nations, 170 countries all around the globe were part of the 12th anniversary edition of the Wings for Life World Run including 1,838 wheelchair participants. Australia hit record numbers with over 6,911 people running across the nation.  

In Australia Isabella Natale (41.73 kilometres, App run in Sydney) and Dan Camac (58.00 kilometres App run in South Australia) were the respective women’s and men’s winners in the 2025 event.  

Jo Fukuda (JPaN, 71.67 kilometers, App run in Japan) and Esther Pfeiffer (GER, 59.00 kilometres, Flagship Run in Germany) were the respective men’s and women’s winners of the 2025 event. All news, results and reactions from today’s charity run can be found at www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com.

The 12th edition of the Wings for Life World Run saw thousands of enthusiastic participants joining all around the world individually with the App or in organised groups at 452 App Run Events, where the participants ran together before being chased down by the Virtual Catcher Car.

Athletes from around Australia joined in and ran. In Sydney, at the start line, Red Bull Athlete Rhiannan Iffland shared “this is my 9th year running in the Wings for Life World run and it’s an event very close to my heart.”

Joining Rhiannan was Sam Bloom who participated in her first Wings for Life World Run in 2016 and has taken part every year since.

Bloom added “Wings for Life World Run is such a special event and 100% of the money goes to spinal cord injury research. A cure would be life changing for myself and so many others with spinal cord injuries. Running and rolling with thousands of people each year is so much fun and one step closer to a cure.”

In Adelaide Red Bull Gamer Grace Short while running enthused “the turnout in Adelaide is phenomenal. I hit 14.39km which was over 6km from my 2024 run. I loved it, it was so much fun out on the course.”

In the end, all the day’s joyous experiences resulted in these exciting new figures: Since the first Wings for Life World Run in 2014, a total of 1,870,253 Wings for Life World Run participants have now raised a total of €60.5 million, funding 324 promising research projects and clinical trials so far.

Colin Jackson, Wings for Life International Sports Director added "we've broken even more records with over 310,719 participants around the world, and this year we raised over €8,600,000. What we achieved today is genuinely going to change lives.”

Wings for Life Chief Executive Anita Gerhardter was keen to underline the achievements of all who took part this year and shared “I’m over the moon about the results of the Wings for Life World Run. One shared mission and so much love and energy from every corner of the world. With 310,719 runners joining in, we raised 8.6 million euros for spinal cord research. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this day so special - whether you walked, ran, rolled, volunteered or cheered us on. You’re the heartbeat of this movement. Together, we’ll find a cure for spinal cord injury. Thanks again and see you at the start line next year.”

The 13th edition of the Wings for Life World Run will take place on 10th May 2026. Registrations for 2026 - including numerous App Run Events (with more to follow), all Flagship Runs and running individually with the Wings for Life World Run App will open on 5th November 2025. For more information, to receive notifications and to register visit www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com.

All news, results and reactions from today’s charity run can be found at www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com.

Image top. Wings for Life World Run Randwick Racecourse Sydney. Credit: Red Bull Content Pool; image centre. Wings for Life World Run, Sam Bloom, Randwick Credit: Ken Leanfore/ Red Bull Content Pool; Image below. Wings for Life World Run, Grace Short, Adelaide. Credit: Red Bull Content Pool