About
Race Running Bikes or Race Runners are used by people of all ages for recreation, everyday mobility and sport at all levels. Race Running has pioneered from Denmark to many other countries around the world since the mid 1990's.
Race Running is also an athletic discipline where the athletes are running with their feet while using a three wheeled running frame for support of their body. You can see our Competition section for more details.
The Race Runner has support from a saddle and a body support plate while he steer it with arms/hands on a steering handle. While it may look like a bicycle is really a running frame, there are no pedals.
Quest 88 Limited
Quest 88 Limited have developed this site with assistance from Petra from Connie Hansen, in order to raise awareness of this empowering activity for children and adults.
Quest 88 has been involved in the design, manufacture and supply of activity based therapy products for some 20 years in the UK.
In 2006, Quest 88 recognised racerunning and the Petra running bike as an activity and product that epitimises what the company is about, that is to provide opportunities to children and adults to participate in activities that promote health, fitness and social and physical wellbeing.
Nick 'Strider' Bister
Nick 'Strider' Bister is an athlete with Cerebral Palsy.
Nick competes on his Petra running bike against both CP athletes and able-bodied runners, and he holds a number of National Records. Quest 88 is pleased to be sponsoring Nick on his Petra
The sport of race-running is growing fast in mainland Europe, and there are high hopes for its inclusion as a Paralympic sport.
Nick has been keeping us up to date with his progress and he is regularly featured in the Quest 88's newsletter "On-Que"
Visit the website of Nick Bister
The History of Race Running (by Mansoor Siddiqi)
From 1982 - 1989, I participated in backward wheelchair racing, without receiving any outstanding results. I never felt that I could "submit myself" completely - I had more power but my CP prevented from making the most out of it. Therefore, in 1989 I contacted the famous wheelchair racer Connie Hansen who was educated as an ergo therapist to help me develop a wheelchair where I could use all my muscle power.
After a while Connie asked me why I wanted to wheel backwards and not forwards. I agreed to the idea of running forward and we made some drawings and the first Petra (RaceRunner) was made out of : a front wheel, handlebars and a saddle from a bicycle, the back from a swivel chair and some pipes from an old vacuum cleaner. Connie's father who was a retired blacksmith put all this together to something I could run in.
From the results we could see that this was better than moving backwards. My record was 38 seconds on 100 m and on one of my first time keepings in the RaceRunner the time was 28 seconds.
Soon we found out that this thing was something others could use and that is why I lined up in my RaceRunner at the Robin Hood Games in 1993 where I raced against CP2L.
At that moment I got the CPISRA attention and one of the CPISRA classifiers said that himself the first time he saw me running in the RaceRunner in this way: "This is the right way to compete. By running forward you show that you want to attack and win. By running backwards you are escaping (from something)".