Running is a practice specific to everyone. Whether it's to unwind after a long day, to push your body to exceed its limits or simply to take a breath of fresh air, there are all good reasons to put on your shoes and escape one step at a time. .

Last Sunday, May 8, our community ran for a very special cause: to raise funds for research into spinal cord injuries. In partnership with Red Bull Canada, the Faux Mouvement running club participated in the Wings For Life global race and ran among thousands of people around the world, for those who cannot.

At 7:00 sharp, under a radiant sun and a cloudless sky, around sixty runners crossed the starting line until the virtual Catcher Car overtook them. The entire registration fee for the emotional event was donated to research to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.
The two individuals behind the Wings for Life foundation are Heinz Kinigadner, two-time world motocross champion and Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull. In 2003, Heinz Kinigadner's son was the victim of a tragic accident and was left quadriplegic, following a spinal cord injury. Motivated to fuel research into this unfortunate condition, Kinigadner and Mateschitz invited a handful of scientists at the top of their practice to evaluate the options before them. Contrary to what one might imagine, Kinigadner and Mateschitz quickly understood that there was an interest in maintaining hope and that spinal cord injuries had the potential for recovery. Indeed, the work of Dr. Sam David in the 1980s and of Dr. Martin Schwab, around ten years later, demonstrated that the nerve cells populating the spinal cord are capable of regenerating after certain types of treatment.

However, as they dug deeper, Kinigadner and Mateschitz quickly realized that research into spinal cord injuries was very underfunded. Since the number of victims of spinal cord injuries is not as high as other conditions or illnesses, funds for research are difficult to accumulate. It was therefore in an effort to respond to the lack of resources that the charitable foundation Wings for Life was created. This non-profit foundation focuses its research on 7 main pillars, including the limitation of collateral damage occurring during a spinal cord injury, research on nerve reconstruction and the rehabilitation of victims.
In figures, the Wings for Life World Run 2022 brought together

• 161,892 participants
• 192 nations around the world
• The cumulative distance traveled represents 3x the journey to the moon, or nearly 1,230,000 km
• More than $6.4 million for spinal cord injury research

On behalf of the entire Faux Mouvement running café team, we thank the runners who participated in this memorable event and for running for people who cannot!

(To learn more about how funds raised during the race are used, go to https://www.wingsforlife.com/en/research/)