With the Achilles Track Club, people who once had difficulty covering the distance from one streetlight to the next wind up competing in marathons. The organization, headquartered in New York City, provides aspiring athletes with coaching, training sessions, encouragement, technical expertise, logistical support, and race entry fees.
Dick Traum founded the Achilles Track Club in 1983. In 1976, Traum, an above-the-knee amputee, became the first person without a leg to run a marathon.
From its beginning in New York City, the organization have evolved into Achilles International, with chapters throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Norway, Mongolia, Japan, Ecuador, New Zealand, Russia, and South Africa, and many others.
Achilles International Accommodates All Disabilities
Achilles International accommodates athletes with many types of physical limitations including (but not limited to):
- Blindness and visual impairments
- Deafness and hearing impairment
- Cerebral palsy
- Spinal cord injuries
- Multiple sclerosis
- Amputations
- Traumatic brain injuries.
In the past, Achilles team members have competed on crutches, on tethers (for blind runners), in wheelchairs, on artificial limbs and sometimes with no aides at all.
Achilles International Programs and Events
Hope and Possibility 5-Mile Run/Walk
Achilles’ signature event is the Hope and Possibility 5-Mile Run/Walk, a race in which able-bodied and disabled athletes compete together. The event is named after the subtitle of Trisha Meili’s best-selling memoir, I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility. Meili is an Achilles’ Founding Board Chair. The 2009 race takes place on Sunday, June 28th in Central Park. All are welcome.
Achilles Kids Program
Achilles International has a youth program called Achilles Kids, which, in association with the New York City Department of Education, trains more than 3,500 children at 142 public and private schools. Achilles Kids is primarily composed of minority children from inner-city neighborhoods and features workouts throughout the year.
Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans and Marathon Tour
The Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans is a program for disabled service personnel, including many veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The team includes about 360 members from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Balboa Naval Hospital, and Brooke Army Medical Center. Freedom Team members train, set goals, and participate in races. In November 2008, 30 team members completed the 2008 ING New York City Marathon and ever increasing numbers of veterans will compete with Achilles in a Marathon Tour of prestigious mainstream races throughout the country and internationally.
Achilles New York City Chapter
Achilles’ NYC Chapter features twice-weekly training sessions and many scheduled races throughout the year. Other Achilles programs, done in conjunction with different organizations, provide eye surgery for blind runners, prostheses for amputees, and wheelchairs for those with spinal cord injuries or other mobility impairments.
By enabling the disabled to participate in mainstream athletics, Achilles International has, throughout its 26-year history, been one of the vanguards making sports and recreation more accessible, enhancing the personal achievement and self-esteem of countless athletes with special needs. Call 212.354.0300 for more information.
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