It’s a pleasure to announce my new fundraising campaign for Achilles International for this next section of my big ride. Achilles International is an organization dedicated to making sport and exercise more inclusive for people with all kinds of disabilities, breaking down barriers to athletic participation, and empowering people across the disability spectrum to celebrate the athlete within and push past what they thought they were capable of to reach their individual finish lines. Having always been passionate about movement and exercise my whole life, the mission of Achilles truly resonates with me. I believe in the positive power of movement, not only in how it makes us stronger, faster, and healthier, but also that it’s fun, encourages personal empowerment through athletic accomplishment, and fosters community and new friendships by enjoying exercise together. For me, movement is a huge part of my personal well-being, and I believe movement and exercise should be inclusive and accessible to everyone!
Learn more about the spirit of Achilles through the video
Unfortunately, there are still many barriers to participate in sport and exercise for people with disabilities, such as lack of necessary support, the high expense or inaccessibility of adapted sporting equipment, and general ableist prejudice or feeling unwelcome in traditional sport and exercise settings. The fundamental mission of Achilles International is to break down these barriers, and create a space where people with disabilities can participate and enjoy exercise together within a supportive and welcoming community. Achilles supports disabled athletes all around the world, with 62 chapters across 18 countries. The primary focus of Achilles is group running and adapted cycling programs, but their main goal is to make all forms of sport and exercise inclusive to everyone, and bring hope, inspiration, and the joys of achievement to all.
I joined my first Achilles workout in New York, USA, where I learned how to run as a guide for a blind athlete. We ran alongside each other, both of us holding a tether, and I needed to point out any obstacles and signal changes in direction as we ran. Mostly though, we just had a friendly chat during the run and got to know each other’s personal stories. I joined another workout in Munich, Germany, again running as a guide for a blind older athlete and hearing his story about becoming blind from a motorcycle accident, and his current work improving the accessibility of the Munich public transport system for people with blindness and other forms of disability. My runs with Achilles were meaningful, fun, and empowering experiences, and I hope to join for many more workouts with different Achilles chapters along my ride and around the world. What struck me most in my workouts with Achilles was the community. Everyone there, no matter whether disabled or not, was seen, welcomed, and valued, and everyone was included with the individualized support they needed to participate in the workout in the way they wanted, whether that meant a hard training run for an upcoming race, or a short jog or walk around the park. The core value, that movement brings us together and we can find ways to make movement and exercise accessible to everyone, showed in every step of the process. The mission of Achilles deeply resonates with me: Sport and exercise, and all the joy, personal accomplishment, and community that come with them, should be accessible and inclusive for everyone!
It is an honor to promote and raise money for Achilles International as part of my trip. I will be raising money for Achilles for the remainder of my ride through Europe, from Paris to the southern tip of Spain before I make the jump to Africa. Please check out my fundraiser page for Achilles here: https://give.achillesinternational.org/campaign/600125/donate
And you can learn more about Achilles and their impactful work, as well as how to contribute to Achilles as a volunteer at a chapter near you, on their website here: https://www.achillesinternational.org/
I hope you will join me in supporting Achilles and helping to make sport and exercise more inclusive, accessible, and welcoming for everyone to enjoy!
Go Achilles!