We ran for Life!

Last Sunday, in gorgeous Zadar, a run for a special cause was held called the Wings for Life World Run.

After a two-year pause due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, around 5,000 contestants returned to Zadar to run for this humanitarian cause. 100% of the funds raised were directly donated to the Wings for Life charity, which finances spinal cord research to help millions of disabled people around the world.

The people who gathered in Zadar, either as a runner or a spectator, believed in the core mission that those who cannot run today, will one day, due to the research they are funding through this race, run with them in Zadar.

This is one of the most beloved races in Croatia. The race was already sold out again this year. There are a couple of obvious reasons why everyone who experiences this race in Zadar always runs again year after year, but the reason that most people allude to is positive energy.

The Wings for Life race in Zadar is part of a world network of Wings for Life races, which does not have an official finish line. Instead, there is an interceptor car that catches runners. The race started at 1 PM and half an hour later, the car starts at speed of 14km/h. Every 30 minutes, the car speeds up by 1km/h, and after two hours, its speed is increased by 4km/h. The car then slowly reaches the majority of contestants and when the interceptor car reaches the last racer, the race is over. The interceptor car does not just capture runners, the car also cheers them on and tries to help runners achieve a few more meters before they catch up to them.

Serengeti, as a socially responsible company and a company that promotes a healthy living lifestyle, has employees who participated in this year’s race. Dubravko Martinić, director of software engineering, and Zoran Šljivić, lead of software development represented Serengeti at this year’s race, together with a few other colleagues – Saša Ivičević, Saša Barišić, Ivan Kozić, David Dolački, Ivan Jerković, and Antonio Sitek. Let’s hear what Dubravko and Zoran had to say about the race:

Dubravko Martinić

„This is my second time participating in the Wings for Life race. Last year because of Covid it was online, using an application, but this year I ran live. The atmosphere running in the race and the overall attitude of the organizers was truly uplifting. The weather could have been better- The sun first fried us then the rain cooled us off with a shower. I am satisfied with the result, it was a lot better than last year, and I hope that next year will be even better.”

Zoran Šljivić

“This is my 6^th year that I have ran at Wings for Life. Considering that last year the race was not in Zadar because of Covid, this is now a true delight to participate in person. There were around 5,000 racers, which is about half the amount that raced in 2019, but there were many spectators cheering us on the whole route. It was sunny almost the whole race and at certain checkpoints, firefighters with a smirk on their faces drenched us with water. Positive craziness. At the end of the race, just when the car reached me, rain and hail started to pour down on us. We then caught a bus to bring us back to Zadar. The atmosphere was amazing and I am happy to have participated for such a worthy cause. I hope that next year I will escape the car and run even further than I did this year.”