@CiscoNetAcad at Wingsforlifeworldrun #worldrun
Interview with Sigurd Meiche
How did it all start?
We’re constantly looking for new ways to engage with consumers. So new ideas are always on my mind. During waiting for a plane connection n Moscow airport, I talked about doing something with running with a friend. We didn’t want to copy anything existing. Our strength is that we have knowledge about organizing runs in Austria, and our colleagues around the globe know how to organize events in their countries. The main idea was: Doing a run in different places of the world at the same time.
When I came back home, I typed some notes in my office about this idea. Unfortunately my energetic presentation did not help and the idea was not adopted further.
Years later, we were looking for how we can raise awareness on a global scale for the Wings for Life Foundation. That is when my idea had it’s come back. We wanted to create an event that has a meaning, that engages as many people as possible. We wanted to create an asset for people, rather than just asking for money as a charity. Doing something together for a cause is much more than a charity.
Running is the biggest sport, everybody runs. It’s the most simple form of movement everyone can do. It connects us all.
The great thing about this is also: We know where we are now, where we start but we don’t know where we end up.
How did you get the project running?
Bringing everybody to one table to talk about the idea. This is the best thing you can do to get the project running.
Why do the races have to start at the same time?
That the races start at the same time is the most important part of this project. It makes this unique. We wanted to create something that we can actually do together at the same point in time. This is the uniqueness of the project – we can all do something together at the same time.
The global winner will have been better than more than 50 000 people.
Do you think it’s fair that people run in different weather and time conditions?
During the preparation for this I learned that the best condition for each runner is different because the biorhythm of everybody is different. In India it is 40°C hot, but the people there are more used to this. The beauty in this race is that you can really choose where you would like to run. Early in the morning, in cold or hot weather. This is what professional runners do and the runners had a lot of runner-specific questions.
Another beauty of this event is that winning does not only depend on your own performance but also on the performance of others.
Do you expect more runs in the future?
Yes, in the future we expect many more runs. We would like to have more runs so that more people can easily come to a run instead of having to travel far to take part in a run.
Come and join us on May 3rd, 2015 !
Thank you, Sigrund for the time to speak to us and your passionate
explanation on how the Wings for Life World Run was created.
