Running
What the hell is... a Catcher Car
Meet the mobile finish line that will stalk the various routes of the Wings for Life World Run.
1 min
Catcher Cars at work for Wings for Life World Run
The Wings for Life World Run is an entirely new type of event never before seen or undertaken.
#mygoal
So, the Catcher Car… what’s the big idea? At each of the Wings for Life World Run venues there will be Catcher Cars acting as moving finish lines. The race is over for a runner once the car overtakes them. To give the runners a chance of making inroads into the course before being passed, the cars at the various World Run locations will set off 30 minutes after the athletes. The drivers of each car will cruise the course until they have passed every runner in the race. By staging the World Run in this manner it means that the slowest runners will be the first to cross the finish line.
For some, the Catcher Car will be the most motivating part of the race; for others, it will be their biggest fear.
- Colin Jackson, Olympic medallist and Wings for Life World Run race director.
What speeds are these Catcher Cars travelling at? The starting speed of the cars is a steady 15kph and they trundle along at this pace for the first hour of their journey. An exactly one hour into the race the vehicle shifts to 16kph and the following hour the speed is upped to 17kph. Once a further hour has passed the cars takes its pace to 20kph and continues at that speed for the next two hours. The cars will finally reach a top speed of 35kph five hours after setting off from the start line and will maintain this pace until every runner has been passed.
Catcher Cars feature brand new tracking technology
© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
If the finish line is constantly on the move, how do I know my result? The progress and final result of each runner is recorded by a timing tag hidden in their individual race number. The tag is activated when they cross the start line and is deactivated, and their final race distance measured, when they’re passed by the Catcher Car. Runners are encouraged to set themselves a pre-race target with this Wings for Life Goal Calculator.
Can I jump in for a lift? With thousands of entries to the Wings for Life World Run it would become cramped inside the Catcher Cars if they started stopping to pick up hitchhikers. Anyway, the race organisers have come up with the much better idea of shuttle buses following behind the cars to pick up runners once their race has finished.
How do I show that lump of metal who’s boss? There’s still time to sign up to race and join the masses of runners worldwide who are committed to supporting Wings for Life on their mission is to find a cure for spinal cord injury. Those wanting to take part on May 4, 2014 have until midnight (UTC) on Sunday, April 20, 2014 to register for one of the runs.
DO SAY: “Catch me if you can.”
DON’T SAY: “Taxi!”