Wings For Life World Run #5 (Georgia)

WFLWR Georgia

2018 is the 5th year of the Wings For Life World Run (WFLWR) and I still think that it is an amazing and unique event. Not only is the concept great......everyone is running for "those who can't", ie the whole event is bankrolled by RedBull so that 100% of people's entry fee goes into spinal cord research.....but the format is brilliant. Everybody taking part starts at the same time, no matter where they are round the globe, and the catcher cars start driving 30 minutes later. Once the car passes you, you chip is deactivated and you are "out", so the event caters for people of all fitnesses and abilities......some cover under 5km, whilst others run over 70km.

The "prize" for running the furthest in an individual event (the global winner is the last person left running anywhere in the world) is an invite to take part in an event of your choice the following year. Having managed to run the furthest of all the females in Poland last year, I opted to go to Georgia this year. It's a country that I've never been to yet heard much about, and it didn't involve any long haul flights being (sort of) in Europe. I also doubted that I would be able to run at all, so didn't really want to travel a long way for a run that I couldn't participate in.

My friend Jacquie agreed to come with me and we set off with some trepidation, as it's not often you travel to a country where you speak absolutely none of the language, and cannot even read anything (as they have a completely different script there). We needn't have worried as although not many people spoke English (most tourist that visit the country seem to be Russian), they were all very friendly and we got by with a smattering of different Eastern European languages and some good acting/sign language.

The run route in its usual state

A common encounter on the main road!

One thing that we really did need to be afraid of, was the driving. The rules of the road seem to be that there are no rules (and, as we learnt later, many people don't actually have driving licences). We had a hire car to drive from Tbilisi, the capital city (which we visited later.....very interesting as old historic buildings mingle with new modern constructions) to Kakheti, the (wine) region where the event was to be held. The drive was definitely an experience as sections with no road markings meant that people drove wherever they felt like driving - at one point I was overtaking a car (which was also being undertaken) when another car overtook me, whilst a couple of cars drove towards us.......rather like a very scary game of "chicken". At other times you had to suddenly slam on the brakes to avoid cows wandering into the road, or shepherds herding their sheep across it, or even the car in front suddenly stopping to buy a pig's head from a stall at the side of the tarmac.

Media interviews

I had initially thought that I wouldn't run, but would support Jacquie, but as the event approached, I felt I should get into the spirit of the event and take part, as I can still run more than those "who can't" (ie those who the event is raising money for). I knew that I was too unfit and too broken to be competitive so I was just there to take part, and so decided to ignore the faster runners and just do what I felt was best for me and my poorly leg. There were some press interviews beforehand and they asked the obvious questions about planned distances and whether I was going for the win, but I told them of my injury and that I had no expectations but was just happy to be there.

Trying to cool off in the "media tent"
with Frederique from Belgium

It was my 5th WFLWR and my 5th different course.....each one has been so different, but the biggest contrast was definitely in temperature between this event and last year's. I remember being rather cold on the startline in Poznán as it was less than 10 degrees and drizzly, whereas this year (albeit 3pm in Georgia rather than 1pm in Poland) it was about 30 degrees and very humid. Jacquie kindly shepherded me at the startline to avoid any trampling issues (I feel even more "delicate" than usual since getting my DEXA though I'm sure this is all psychological) but as usual there was a very odd collection of people pushing past us to get to the front....some of whom were wearing jeans, and some even had handbags slung over their shoulders. These were probably a few of those who appeared to only cover a couple of hundred metres when you later looked at the results!

Spot the jeans and handbags....

Us just crossing the startline - how many
were already ahead up the road?

The start was the usual chaos of sprinters, walkers and stumblers....so that by the time Jacquie and I passed under the official gantry, there must have been almost 100 people ahead of us. This meant the first few hundred metres became a game of dodgems, and in the end I had to run off the road into the scrubby verge to get past some who'd already slowed to a walk! Jacquie waved me off and I was on my own. With the first kilometre, I had already starting questioning myself as to what I was doing and why I was there. I had seen 2 Russian ladies zoom off down the road and, surprisingly, it was no great mental strain to keep steady and not chase after them. I run (and miss running) because I just love to run, but I wasn't really feeling the love for it then. My leg wasn't hurting but I was afraid that it would....but more to the point, I just felt unfit and as if I was lumbering along in the heat. I very nearly stopped dead, but gave myself a good talking to - I had the opportunity of running in an amazing new place and I should at least continue until the catcher car (well, in Georgia it was more of a van than a car) started to chase us down.

The "catcher van"

The 7K point

Keeping half an eye on my watch for the magic 30 minute mark when the car started (well if I'm honest I kept looking at it willing the time to pass more quickly), I passed through a little village where the locals had come out of their houses to high five the runners, and then approached a beautiful hilltop fort/monastery (definitely one to visit the next day!) at the 7K mark. Now that we were actually being chased, I then settled baby targets - each km ticked off was a bonus with the 10K marker a highlight as there was a water/feed station. I got there under the 45minute mark and thankfully grabbed a couple of cups of water (1 to drink, 1 to "wear") and carried on at a walking pace. People kept trying to encourage me to keep running (well, I think that's what they were saying - in Russian and Georgian) but I was not going to do myself any more harm so stuck to my guns with 5 minutes of "running" followed by 1 minute of "walking" (though the countdown of those 5 minutes seemed to take longer and longer each time).

In this manner I made it to the 15K water/feed station and was surprised that the second lady was still in sight up the road ahead of me, but I was prepared to be "caught" any time now. My lack of fitness was showing as I debated dropping it to 4 minutes of run with 1 minute of walking, but as the kilometres seemed to be passing by I decided to stick with the 5:1 ration to the 20K mark (if I made it that far). By the time I got to 20K, there were hardly any runners passing me in my walk breaks and so I figured that the car would appear any minute and hence I might as well just continue running. The 23K sign was just at the "townlimits" of where we were staying so I decided that if I was caught anywhere in town, I'd just meander back to our accommodation (well, it was a "wine spa"), but all too soon I was through town and out the other side. I was starting to pass a few people now who were going slower and having more breaks than me so I set myself a new target. I wanted to get to 27K as I thought that was half of the distance that I'd run in Poland (admittedly my memory was rubbish as I'd only run 52K in 2017, not the 54K I thought!).

The empty road at 31.12K!

A very bored looking driver of the catcher van!!

That sign came and went....and still no catcher car! The 30K water/aid station was next and again I passed it with no car in sight. I'd high-fived another runner as I passed him but I was now all alone on my stretch of road with no one in sight either in front or behind. There was none of the drama of the previous year - maybe you only get cyclists, motorcyclists, bells and sirens at the front of the field - though a cameraman on a bike did film me as the car gradually reeled me in for the last few hundred metres. I made sure that I passed the 31K sign and was smiling as they came abreast of me - I waved at the driver and ground to a halt....all alone. Unsure of what to do from there, I started heading back towards the 30K stop, picking up my "highfiving friend" en route (an Estonian living in Tbilisi who could ask a friendly policeman - in Russian - how we could get back to the start). In the end we went to the 30K stop and availed ourselves of the water and fruit there. A minibus turned up with other runners on it that had been caught between 25 and 30K (one of whom presented with with a lovely rose) and they let us take the empty seats to go back to the start line.

Myself and Jacquie celebrating with local wine :-)

Now that was a rather speedy and scary trip, but Jacquie and I were safely reunited by our little hire car to commiserate over the fact that this year there were no finisher's medals (everyone who started was a finisher so really should have been awarded a medal) but celebrate surviving the event....and we celebrated still further with wine on our return to the hotel. Despite my injury and lack of fitness, it was still a fabulous day and something I would heartily recommend to everyone (whatever their fitness, speed and ability)....and many thanks to RedBull for giving me the opportunity to run in such a location.....and enjoy the rest of the trip as we stayed on for a few days of holiday to explore more of Georgia.