Around the world, in the countryside as well as in the city center, more than 5 participants took part in this unprecedented experience in favor of UNICEF and its new vaccination campaign “Target 500% of children vaccinated ”, which aims to vaccinate by 100 the 2020% of children worldwide who are not yet immunized against preventable diseases.

Digital preparation for several weeks

For more than a month, amateur and accomplished athletes had the possibility of registering in teams of 4 via the site unicefheroesday.com to validate their participation in the UNICEF Heroes Day race through a donation of 5 to 35 euros. Until the day of the race, each team prepared with the support of members of Team UNICEF such as Martin Fourcade, Renaud Lavillenie, Alizée Cornet and Rio Mavuba through challenges. The most committed teams have accumulated more than 1 kilometers during the preparation in order to be ready on D-Day, while some have collected more than 000 € from those around them.

5.552 participants in 36 countries

5.552 Heroes representing 36 countries, including 18 on the European continent, answered the call of these sponsors to support the cause defended by UNICEF. “The advantage of the technology of running applications and GPS watches makes it possible to virtually bring together runners from the 4 corners of the world without having to physically bring them together in the same place at a specific time. This is the very concept of this first race connected to the world: run from where you want, when you want during the day, "underlines Boris Pourreau, co-founder of Running Heroes, the start-up behind the project. .

This is how runners living in Toronto, Moscow, Sydney and even New York could participate in the same adventure by starting to run just downstairs from their home, several thousand kilometers from each other.

112 euros collected for UNICEF

Physically prepared, the teams had above all the possibility of federating their entourage on unicefheroesday.com in order to collect a maximum of donations. Among them, teams have exceeded 1 euros in collections by gathering more than 800 supporters in a few days. The IAAF social program, "Athletics for a Better World", also joined the race by donating $ 30, in addition to the overall prize pool.

Jérôme Lachaze, head of the operation at UNICEF France highlights “the crowdfunding mechanism adapted to this operation. It has added a multiplier effect to the experience that donors are now looking for in return for their commitment. Charities, UNICEF in particular, must innovate in terms of fundraising. The first edition of “UNICEF Heroes Day” is part of this desire. "

A sum that will allow the organization to vaccinate 22 children in the most isolated areas of the world, especially in Haiti, Chad and Guinea. Today, 543 in 1 children worldwide is not vaccinated and 5 children die every day while their lives depend on their vaccines.

A unique race, a day of celebration all over the world

From 00:01 a.m. to 23:59 p.m., the 5 registrants put on their shoes to take up the challenge this Sunday, April 552, 19. No constraint, only one objective: to run the 2015 kilometers equipped with its Nike +, Runtastic, Endomondo, Runkeeper, MapMyRun or Strava application or its GPS watches (Garmin and Polar) to track the performance of each runner remotely.

The spirit of UNICEF Heroes Day: having the impression of doing your usual Sunday jogging alone in your corner and yet participating in a global, connected and unifying event in favor of a noble cause!

The success of this world first prompts the co-founder of the start-up Running Heroes to already think about the next editions: “1 runner in 2 uses an application or a GPS watch during his practice. The amounts of data generated are considerable, but their potential is still under-exploited. At Running Heroes, we seek to create unique experiences through the use of this data. UNICEF Heroes Day is the perfect illustration of the possibilities open to us to reinvent the practice of running and sport in general. "

Ranking and photos in real time

The Heroes were able to follow live the exploits of their team members but also of other teams thanks to a dynamic and instant display of performances on the event site. http://unicefheroesday.com/pictures.

The photowall displaying the Instagram photos mentioned with the hashtag of the race #UN UNICEFHeroesDay has gathered more than 2100 shots of smiles, sweat and pride.