Everything you need to know about RaceRunning

What is RaceRunning?
​
RaceRunning is a sport where athletes run using a three-wheeled frame without pedals called the RaceRunner. The frame supports athletes with mobility and balance impairments as they propel themselves forward independently using their legs. With more than 30 years of history, RaceRunning is now a demonstration sport in the Paralympics and a major area of development for the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA).  
​
In competitive RaceRunning, athletes run on a track in distances ranging from 40 to 5,000 meters against other runners. Like with many other adaptive sports, competitors are classified based on their disability which allows athletes with similar physical challenges to compete on an even playing field. To learn more about classifications in RaceRunning, visit Cerebral Palsy Sport or CPISRA.

While RaceRunning began as a competitive sport, it is now a popular form of recreation and rehabilitation. Individuals find that the RAD RaceRunners can often provide a greater level of movement and independence than gait-trainers, walkers, or even wheelchairs. Children as young as 3 can practice walking on a RaceRunner with their family. Adults recovering from broken bones, stroke and other conditions can use the device as part of their rehabilitation plans. And, of course, people of all abilities and ages can use it to walk around the neighborhood, go to the grocery store and run with their friends at the local park.
Who Can Use the RaceRunner? 
​
RaceRunning is suitable for any individual with limited mobility, balance or range of motion. It particularly suits those with the following conditions:
​
  • Cerebral Palsy 
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Parkinson's Disease
  • Spasticity
  • Arthritis
  • Spina Bifida
  • Individuals recovering from stroke
  • Individuals in physical therapy or rehab
  • General muscle weakness
​
What Are the Benefits of RaceRunning?
​​
With the proper equipment and technique, RaceRunning can bring athletes many potential benefits:
​
Physical Benefits
  • Improve muscle strength and cardiovascular functions, or slow their decline
  • Increase flexibility, balance and coordination
  • Travel faster, longer, and farther​
Psychological benefits
  • Improve general well-being and self esteem 
  • Gain a greater sense of independence 
  • Exercise learning skills, judgement skills and cognitive abilities
Social Benefits
  • Share outdoor experiences with siblings, parents, grandchildren, friends
  • Meet new friends through local clubs
  • Gain exposure to novel experiences and social events 
  • Gain motivation and social confidence from friendships and competitions
RaceRunners allow people who could not walk or run to feel a sense of empowerment. ​See CBS NEWS's report on 26-year old Kate McCay, who has cerebral palsy and discovered independence for the first time on a RaceRunner . 
RaceRunning Frames
​
​RaceRunning frames are like tricycles without pedals which support the upper body of athletes as they walk or run.

Frames can vary by design, but they usually provide a saddle to counteract lateral movements and a low center of gravity to increase stability. Adults and children who are usually bound to wheelchairs, with proper fitting and training, can move freely on their own on a RaceRunning frame. 
​
After more than seven years of research and development, RAD-Innovations began offering a groundbreaking new frame design in 2020 - the RAD RaceRunner. Compared to previous models, it is lighter, more versatile, and much more affordable. It is listed by Moved United (previously Disabled Sports USA), one of the largest parasports non-profits in the US, as a track and field equipment. 
RaceRunners offer elders with paralysis, arthritis, or other mobility problems a safe and exciting way to exercise as well. ​See how Residents at EastView Retirement Community explore movement with the RAD RaceRunners.
RaceRunning in the US
RaceRunning is still relatively new to the US, though it is estimated that about 500,000 American children and adults have symptoms of cerebral palsy and many more have mobility-related challenges from a disability. 

RAD-Innovations partners with RaceRunning USA, a non-profit organization which promotes the development of RaceRunning in North America. RaceRunning USA provides support and training for local RaceRunning clubs, sporting events and coaching programs. In 2020, the first US RaceRunning Club was established in Middlebury, Vermont.
​
 If you are interested in starting a local club in your community, please visit the website of RaceRunning USA or contact us for more information. A manual on “How to start a RaceRunning Club” is available for download.
Listen to British Paralympian Hannah Dines' experience of getting involved with RaceRunning.
History of RaceRunning
In the 1980s, the Danish para-athlete Mansoor Siddiqi was participating in backward wheelchair racing, but the unsophisticated wheelchair design had become a barrier to his performance. Because Mansoor had spasticity from cerebral palsy, it was difficult for him to steer a regular wheelchair and brake with his own feet. In 1991, the Danish Paralympian and occupational therapist Connie Hansen started to work with Mansoor to build a device that would help him fulfill his athletic potential. Using a broken bike, an office chair, and a pipe taken from a vacuum cleaner in their garage, Connie and Mansoor scraped together the first RaceRunner.

In 1991, Mansoor participated in the Robin Hood Games with his RaceRunner, an event organized by CPISRA. On a RaceRunner, he was able to run faster, engage more power and move more naturally and upright compared to others who were pushing wheelchairs backwards. Mansoor and his RaceRunner drew a lot of attention at the event, and the prototype he and Connie developed started to gain increasing popularity all over Denmark. The prototype eventually became the Petra RaceRunner, which still serves the RaceRunning community today.

In 1998, RaceRunning was introduced outside of Copenhagen to Portugal, Ireland, and Belgium. After the CPISRA World Championship included RaceRunning as an official event, summer camps and local programs started to spring up, catering to special needs children and adult athletes. In 2000, Mansoor became the head coach of the Danish National RaceRunning Team and CPISRA gradually evolved to become the governing body of the RaceRunning sport. 

The popularity of RaceRunning continued to grow over the following two decades. Participation skyrocketed, coaching quality improved, and the level of organization and recognition of the sport crossed major milestones. In 2018, selective RaceRunning programs for athletes with severe coordination impairments were included at the Berlin 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships. At the 2019 World Championships, 120 athletes from 17 countries competed in Copenhagen.

Today, CPISRA, World Para Athletics, and active RaceRunning communities around the world continue to collaborate in the development of classification systems and training programs for the sport. As RaceRunning expands to new regions like North America, and becomes more affordable thanks to a new generation of RaceRunners, it will bring the joy of movement to millions of people around the world.

For more information on the history of RaceRunning, visit the website of RaceRunning.org or RaceRunning USA. ​
Picture
Mansoor Siddiqi and his RaceRunner, 1991.*
*Photo from www.racerunning.org