Aoyama Gakuin University Ekiden Team to Participate! The World's Largest Charity Run with a Simultaneous Start | Wings for Life World Run 2026
The Aoyama Gakuin University Ekiden team is set to join the "Wings for Life World Run 2026," a global charity event raising funds for spinal cord injury research. Supported by Red Bull Japan, the run has a unique format with no finish line, where a "Catcher Car" pursues runners. The event will take place simultaneously worldwide on May 10, 2026, with 100% of entry fees donated to the Wings for Life Foundation.
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Miyamae Kazuki / Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull Japan K.K. supports the "Wings for Life World Run," the world's largest and simultaneously held running event, organized by the Wings for Life Foundation to fund research for spinal cord injury treatment.
This year, it has been confirmed that official Japanese ambassadors will participate, including Tomoka Igari of Kamen Joshi, an idol who performs in a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury, wheelchair YouTuber Mako Shibuya, and Norihiro Akahoshi, a former professional baseball player and baseball commentator who also experienced a spinal cord injury.
Furthermore, the participation of the Aoyama Gakuin University Track and Field Club's long-distance block (Ekiden team), who are the three-time defending champions of the Hakone Ekiden and have garnered attention for their partnership with Red Bull, has also been decided.
Miyamae Kazuki / Red Bull Content Pool
Coach Susumu Hara, who leads the participating Aoyama Gakuin University Ekiden team, spoke about the event as follows.
"Events like this are great, aren't they? The goal isn't just about time or rank. It's about 'running because it's fun' or 'running for someone else.' Any reason is fine. I'm happy that events like this, which a wide variety of people can join, broaden the range of people involved in track and field."
"After all, if it's a tough competition, it's hard to get motivated to run. This becomes a chance for people who don't usually run to think, 'Maybe I'll give it a try!' I think it's a very valuable initiative."
"In Japan, I think there are many people who are interested in charity but don't have an opportunity to participate. Events like this can be that first step. It's also great that you can participate from anywhere using a dedicated app."
Furthermore, taking this opportunity, we also asked the coach, who trains professionals, for some "tips on running."
"A few basic things. First, the day before. Get a good rest. Many people get too fired up and surprisingly can't do this. It's obvious, but it's also better to refrain from alcohol."
"Before the start, do dynamic stretching. Instead of just stretching, move your body to wake it up before running. It's important to warm up your body thoroughly. And after you run, do static stretching. When you've run hard, care like icing is also important. Preparation and care are all part of the performance."
"Ekiden and marathons are classic sports, right? The future challenge is how to innovatively and glamorously change their plain image. In that sense, this event might offer some hints."
You can view Coach Hara's interview with Red Bull at the link below.
https://www.redbull.com/jp-ja/wings-for-life-world-run-hara-susumu
2025 App Run Event Tokyo Venue｜Suguru Saito for Wings for Life World Run
＼What is the Wings for Life World Run?／
It is a charity run event where the whole world runs for spinal cord injury treatment research, starting at the same time worldwide on a Sunday in May each year. Since 100% of the participation fee is donated to spinal cord injury treatment research, it is a valuable opportunity to support someone while having fun.
Since its first event in 2014, more than 1.87 million people from 191 countries and regions have participated, donating a cumulative total of 60.53 million euros (approximately 9.9 billion yen) for research funding. In 2025 alone, a total of 310,719 people from 170 countries and 191 nationalities participated, with 3,676 participants in Japan (including 700 at the Tokyo venue), raising a total of 8.6 million euros (approximately 1.4 billion yen).
＼A Unique Global Running Event／
Unlike a typical running event, the "Wings for Life World Run" not only has runners from all over the world starting at once, but it also has no finish line. 30 minutes after the start, a chase vehicle called the "Catcher Car" begins from the starting point and pursues the participants. The moment a participant is overtaken by the Catcher Car, which gradually increases its speed, their race is over.
There are three ways to participate in this event: the "Flagship Run," where a real Catcher Car chases you; the "App Run," where you run a course of your choice using a smartphone app; and the "App Run Event," where App Run participants gather to run together.
*In the App Run, a virtual Catcher Car chases the participants.
＼Let's Run Together in Tokyo, Omiya, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka!／
For this year's "App Run Event," the Aoyama Gakuin University Ekiden team is confirmed to participate at Meiji Jingu Gaien in Tokyo. Furthermore, events are also scheduled to be held at Omiya Daisan Park in Saitama Prefecture, the hometown of "RB Omiya Ardija" which joined Red Bull's soccer network last year, as well as at the Fukuyama City Takegahana Athletics Stadium in Hiroshima, and Uminonakamichi Seaside Park in Fukuoka.
Participation is also possible from other regions, so please see the official website for details.
The "Wings for Life World Run 2026" will start simultaneously worldwide on Sunday, May 10th, at 8:00 PM Japan Standard Time.
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/
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Event Overview
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Event Name:
Wings for Life World Run 2026
Date and Time:
Sunday, May 10, 2026, from 8:00 PM (JST)
Eligibility:
18 years of age or older on the day of the event. Handbikes are not permitted; everyday wheelchairs are allowed.
Entry Fee:
3,900 JPY (tax included)
The full amount of the entry fee will be donated to the Wings for Life Foundation. Please note that the event may be interrupted or canceled due to natural disasters, incidents, accidents, etc. In such cases, the entry fee will not be refunded.
Organizer:
Wings for Life World Run Executive Committee
Supported by:
Shinjuku City
ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Tokyo
━━━━━━━━━━
Venues (App Run Event)
━━━━━━━━━━
In Japan, you can participate in the App Run and App Run Events using a smartphone app. For details, please see "How to Participate in Japan" below.
⚫︎Tokyo Venue
Location: Meiji Jingu Gaien
Address: 1-1 Kasumigaokamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/ja/locations/tokyo-shinjuku-ku
⚫︎Omiya Venue
Location: Omiya Daisan Park
Address: 2-chome Horinouchicho, Omiya-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/ja/locations/omiya
⚫︎Hiroshima Venue
Location: Fukuyama City Takegahana Athletics Stadium
Address: 4748 Minomicho-sanshinden, Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/locations/fukuyama-city-hiroshima
⚫︎Fukuoka Venue
Location: Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, Hikari to Kaze no Hiroba
Address: 18-25 Oaza Saitozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/locations/fukuoka
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How to Participate in Japan
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Please apply from the event page and download the app to your smartphone. You can download the app by going to the App Store or Google Play from the official website. Registration is open until one hour before the event starts.
App Run Event
App Run participants gather at specific venues to run together. On the day of the event, famous personalities such as Red Bull athletes will also participate to liven up the event. Let's run with the athletes at the venue.
App Run
Run a course of your choice using the app. You can run with runners from all over the world through the app, whether by yourself or with family and friends.
Registration:
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/
Wings for Life World Run 2026Wings for Life World Run 2026
━━━━━━━━━━
Wings for Life World Run 2025
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Total Participants: 310,719
Number of Participating Countries: 170
Number of Participating Nationalities: 191
Number of Participants in Japan: 3,676
Number of Participants at Tokyo Venue: 700
Total Donations/Funds Raised: 8.6 million euros (approx. 1.4 billion yen)
━━━━━━━━━━━
About the Wings for Life Foundation
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The Wings for Life Foundation is a non-profit foundation that funds research into treatments for spinal cord injury, with the sole mission of finding a cure. Millions of people worldwide suffer from spinal cord injuries, often due to traffic accidents or falls. Since 2004, the foundation has funded life-changing research projects and clinical trials around the world, and while a cure has not yet been found, steady progress is being made.
Red Bull Japan K.K. supports the "Wings for Life World Run," the world's largest and simultaneously held running event, organized by the Wings for Life Foundation to fund research for spinal cord injury treatment.
This year, it has been confirmed that official Japanese ambassadors will participate, including Tomoka Igari of Kamen Joshi, an idol who performs in a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury, wheelchair YouTuber Mako Shibuya, and Norihiro Akahoshi, a former professional baseball player and baseball commentator who also experienced a spinal cord injury.
Furthermore, the participation of the Aoyama Gakuin University Track and Field Club's long-distance block (Ekiden team), who are the three-time defending champions of the Hakone Ekiden and have garnered attention for their partnership with Red Bull, has also been decided.
Miyamae Kazuki / Red Bull Content Pool
Coach Susumu Hara, who leads the participating Aoyama Gakuin University Ekiden team, spoke about the event as follows.
"Events like this are great, aren't they? The goal isn't just about time or rank. It's about 'running because it's fun' or 'running for someone else.' Any reason is fine. I'm happy that events like this, which a wide variety of people can join, broaden the range of people involved in track and field."
"After all, if it's a tough competition, it's hard to get motivated to run. This becomes a chance for people who don't usually run to think, 'Maybe I'll give it a try!' I think it's a very valuable initiative."
"In Japan, I think there are many people who are interested in charity but don't have an opportunity to participate. Events like this can be that first step. It's also great that you can participate from anywhere using a dedicated app."
Furthermore, taking this opportunity, we also asked the coach, who trains professionals, for some "tips on running."
"A few basic things. First, the day before. Get a good rest. Many people get too fired up and surprisingly can't do this. It's obvious, but it's also better to refrain from alcohol."
"Before the start, do dynamic stretching. Instead of just stretching, move your body to wake it up before running. It's important to warm up your body thoroughly. And after you run, do static stretching. When you've run hard, care like icing is also important. Preparation and care are all part of the performance."
"Ekiden and marathons are classic sports, right? The future challenge is how to innovatively and glamorously change their plain image. In that sense, this event might offer some hints."
You can view Coach Hara's interview with Red Bull at the link below.
https://www.redbull.com/jp-ja/wings-for-life-world-run-hara-susumu
2025 App Run Event Tokyo Venue｜Suguru Saito for Wings for Life World Run
＼What is the Wings for Life World Run?／
It is a charity run event where the whole world runs for spinal cord injury treatment research, starting at the same time worldwide on a Sunday in May each year. Since 100% of the participation fee is donated to spinal cord injury treatment research, it is a valuable opportunity to support someone while having fun.
Since its first event in 2014, more than 1.87 million people from 191 countries and regions have participated, donating a cumulative total of 60.53 million euros (approximately 9.9 billion yen) for research funding. In 2025 alone, a total of 310,719 people from 170 countries and 191 nationalities participated, with 3,676 participants in Japan (including 700 at the Tokyo venue), raising a total of 8.6 million euros (approximately 1.4 billion yen).
＼A Unique Global Running Event／
Unlike a typical running event, the "Wings for Life World Run" not only has runners from all over the world starting at once, but it also has no finish line. 30 minutes after the start, a chase vehicle called the "Catcher Car" begins from the starting point and pursues the participants. The moment a participant is overtaken by the Catcher Car, which gradually increases its speed, their race is over.
There are three ways to participate in this event: the "Flagship Run," where a real Catcher Car chases you; the "App Run," where you run a course of your choice using a smartphone app; and the "App Run Event," where App Run participants gather to run together.
*In the App Run, a virtual Catcher Car chases the participants.
＼Let's Run Together in Tokyo, Omiya, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka!／
For this year's "App Run Event," the Aoyama Gakuin University Ekiden team is confirmed to participate at Meiji Jingu Gaien in Tokyo. Furthermore, events are also scheduled to be held at Omiya Daisan Park in Saitama Prefecture, the hometown of "RB Omiya Ardija" which joined Red Bull's soccer network last year, as well as at the Fukuyama City Takegahana Athletics Stadium in Hiroshima, and Uminonakamichi Seaside Park in Fukuoka.
Participation is also possible from other regions, so please see the official website for details.
The "Wings for Life World Run 2026" will start simultaneously worldwide on Sunday, May 10th, at 8:00 PM Japan Standard Time.
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/
━━━━━━━━━━
Event Overview
━━━━━━━━━━
Event Name:
Wings for Life World Run 2026
Date and Time:
Sunday, May 10, 2026, from 8:00 PM (JST)
Eligibility:
18 years of age or older on the day of the event. Handbikes are not permitted; everyday wheelchairs are allowed.
Entry Fee:
3,900 JPY (tax included)
The full amount of the entry fee will be donated to the Wings for Life Foundation. Please note that the event may be interrupted or canceled due to natural disasters, incidents, accidents, etc. In such cases, the entry fee will not be refunded.
Organizer:
Wings for Life World Run Executive Committee
Supported by:
Shinjuku City
ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Tokyo
━━━━━━━━━━
Venues (App Run Event)
━━━━━━━━━━
In Japan, you can participate in the App Run and App Run Events using a smartphone app. For details, please see "How to Participate in Japan" below.
⚫︎Tokyo Venue
Location: Meiji Jingu Gaien
Address: 1-1 Kasumigaokamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/ja/locations/tokyo-shinjuku-ku
⚫︎Omiya Venue
Location: Omiya Daisan Park
Address: 2-chome Horinouchicho, Omiya-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/ja/locations/omiya
⚫︎Hiroshima Venue
Location: Fukuyama City Takegahana Athletics Stadium
Address: 4748 Minomicho-sanshinden, Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/locations/fukuyama-city-hiroshima
⚫︎Fukuoka Venue
Location: Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, Hikari to Kaze no Hiroba
Address: 18-25 Oaza Saitozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/locations/fukuoka
━━━━━━━━━━
How to Participate in Japan
━━━━━━━━━━
Please apply from the event page and download the app to your smartphone. You can download the app by going to the App Store or Google Play from the official website. Registration is open until one hour before the event starts.
App Run Event
App Run participants gather at specific venues to run together. On the day of the event, famous personalities such as Red Bull athletes will also participate to liven up the event. Let's run with the athletes at the venue.
App Run
Run a course of your choice using the app. You can run with runners from all over the world through the app, whether by yourself or with family and friends.
Registration:
https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/
Wings for Life World Run 2026Wings for Life World Run 2026
━━━━━━━━━━
Wings for Life World Run 2025
━━━━━━━━━━
Total Participants: 310,719
Number of Participating Countries: 170
Number of Participating Nationalities: 191
Number of Participants in Japan: 3,676
Number of Participants at Tokyo Venue: 700
Total Donations/Funds Raised: 8.6 million euros (approx. 1.4 billion yen)
━━━━━━━━━━━
About the Wings for Life Foundation
━━━━━━━━━━━
The Wings for Life Foundation is a non-profit foundation that funds research into treatments for spinal cord injury, with the sole mission of finding a cure. Millions of people worldwide suffer from spinal cord injuries, often due to traffic accidents or falls. Since 2004, the foundation has funded life-changing research projects and clinical trials around the world, and while a cure has not yet been found, steady progress is being made.