5: Amputee Running: The Fit, The Miles, and The Path Forward with Adam Popp

5: Amputee Running: The Fit, The Miles, and The Path Forward with Adam Popp

For an amputee runner, wanting to run is only one part of the process. Before the miles, there is the blade. Before the race, there is the socket fit. Before performance can even become the focus, there are questions about access, pain, equipment, prosthetists, race categories, records, and where to find other athletes who have figured out parts of the path already. In this episode of The Endurance Gap, we sit down with Adam Popp, an above-knee amputee runner and ultra-endurance athlete, to talk about what it really takes to build a life in the sport. Adam shares how he went from believing running was no longer an option, to trying a blade years later, to slowly building his way into marathons, ultras, 100-mile finishes, and the Western States start line. But Adam's story also points to a bigger question for para endurance sport: what would change if more athletes had a clearer path from wanting to run to actually being supported in the sport? This conversation looks at the realities behind that path and why better support has to begin long before race day. What's Discussed: (0:02) Adam Popp joins The Endurance Gap as the show's first guest and shares how he came into the amputee running community. (11:11) Why Adam hated running before losing his leg and how he came back to it years later after being told to avoid high-impact activity. (15:11) The early work people do not see, from Adam's first day in a harness to the stop-and-adjust reality of learning to run with a blade. (15:11) Why para athletes need parallel opportunities from brands, not token recognition or one-sided visibility. (24:04) What it takes to get a running blade and socket fit that can actually support long-distance training. (34:13) Adam's Western States experience and the bigger question of how above-knee amputee runners access major trail and ultra races. (44:39) How Boston's para wave, classification system, prize money, start logistics, and accessible race support create a stronger model for para road racing. Listen to this episode of The Endurance Gap to understand what amputee runners are often dealing with before they ever reach the start line, and what better support could look like across equipment access, race pathways, brand partnerships, and endurance sport. More from Dani Aravich: Website: daniaravich.com/ [https://www.daniaravich.com/] Instagram: @theonearmdan [https://www.instagram.com/theonearmdan/] Threads: @theonearmdan [https://www.threads.com/@theonearmdan] More from Zachary Friedley: Website: borntoadapt.org/ [https://www.borntoadapt.org] Instagram: @trailblader [https://www.instagram.com/trailblader] Threads: @trailblader [https://www.threads.com/@trailblader] Find more about Adam Popp: Instagram: @eodpopp [https://www.instagram.com/eodpopp/?hl=en&utm_source=chatgpt.com]

4: What Makes a Race Actually Ready for Para Athletes

There is a difference between getting into a race and showing up to a race that already has you in mind. For para athletes, that difference can decide whether race week is spent preparing to compete or explaining why they belong there in the first place. In this episode of The Endurance Gap, Dani Aravich and Zachary Friedley break down the 2026 para trail and road scene, including the UTMB Para Trail Summit, Mammoth Trailfest's para podium prize purse, Boston Marathon's para categories, and the race systems that are starting to move beyond basic access. The conversation shows what happens when races do not stop at allowing para athletes into the field, but actually build programming, support, recognition, and competitive opportunities around them. What's Discussed: (23:39) How UTMB North America created para-focused programming through the UTMB Para Trail Summit. (25:05) Why clinics, podium recognition, adaptive athlete policies, and trail opportunities matter for para athletes. (27:08) How Born to Adapt is planning support for athletes pursuing the 2027 UTMB finals. (27:38) Why Mammoth Trailfest adding a para podium prize purse is a major moment for para trail racing. (31:55) What the Boston Marathon shows about para categories, podiums, prize purses, and elite road racing. (34:14) Why Dani is training for Grandma's Marathon with Boston 2027 in mind. If you are deciding where to race next, this episode can help you think about what kind of race deserves your energy. It can help you notice which events are building real systems for para athletes and which ones are still only offering permission without support. More from Dani Aravich: Website: daniaravich.com/ [https://www.daniaravich.com/] Instagram: @theonearmdan [https://www.instagram.com/theonearmdan/] Threads: @theonearmdan [https://www.threads.com/@theonearmdan] More from Zachary Friedley: Website: borntoadapt.org/ [https://www.borntoadapt.org] Instagram: @trailblader [https://www.instagram.com/trailblader] Threads: @trailblader [https://www.threads.com/@trailblader]

3: After The Paralympics: What Athletes Need to Know About the Post-Games Blues

The Paralympics can look like the finish line from the outside. But for athletes, the end of the Games can feel a lot more complicated. After four years of training, sacrifice, pressure, sickness, travel, and emotional build-up, the moment can pass quickly and leave athletes trying to process pride, disappointment, exhaustion, unfinished business, and what comes next. In this episode of The Endurance Gap, we talk through Dani's experience at her third Paralympics and what people rarely see after the Games are over. We get into the post-Games blues, what felt different as a veteran athlete, the race that felt closest to a breakthrough, why France could become a full-circle moment, and how Winter and Summer Paralympics feel completely different from inside the athlete's experience. From competing while sick to missing a race-changing shot, from climate concerns threatening winter sport to the way para athletes are still too often framed through overcoming adversity instead of elite performance, this episode looks at why the Paralympic story cannot end at inspiration. It has to include the pressure, strategy, disappointment, media gaps, and performance realities that make para athletes elite competitors. What's Discussed: (00:00) How Dani is feeling two months after the Paralympics. (01:05) Why the post-Games blues can hit athletes no matter how they performed. (02:08) What felt different at Dani's third Paralympics compared to her first two. (03:53) Why Dani is already thinking about another Paralympic cycle. (04:24) Why France feels personal, meaningful, and possibly full circle. (11:01) Why para cross-country and biathlon can feel like a full racing whirlwind. (16:00) How poor snow conditions and climate change are threatening winter sport. (18:42) Why para athletes still need better storytelling, commentary, and media coverage. Listen to this episode of The Endurance Gap to understand what really happens after a Paralympic cycle ends, why the emotional crash after a major goal is not weakness, and how better storytelling can help para endurance athletes be seen for the elite competitors they are. More from Dani Aravich: Website: daniaravich.com/ [https://www.daniaravich.com/] Instagram: @theonearmdan [https://www.instagram.com/theonearmdan/] Threads: @theonearmdan [https://www.threads.com/@theonearmdan] More from Zachary Friedley: Website: borntoadapt.org/ [https://www.borntoadapt.org] Instagram: @trailblader [https://www.instagram.com/trailblader] Threads: @trailblader [https://www.threads.com/@trailblader]

2: 10 Things Most People Don't Know About The Para Endurance Community

Para endurance is happening at the highest levels of sport, yet much of it remains invisible. Elite athletes line up and race iconic events while recognition, infrastructure, and systems trail far behind. In this episode of The Endurance Gap, we break down 10 things most people don't know about the para endurance community. We explore why para trail running still lacks official podiums, how elite athletes are forced to race on DIY or self-modified equipment, and what it really costs to compete without industry support. From wheelchair marathons operating at Formula 1-level speeds to the "hidden labor" behind every start line, we reveal the gaps between elite performance and systemic recognition. What's Discussed: (00:30) Why para trail running still has no official podiums (04:38) How elite para athletes race on DIY or self-modified equipment (07:14) Classification systems and Paralympic eligibility cuts (08:11) What it meant to see more than 60 para athletes on the UTMB start line (15:01) The hidden labor behind racing as a para athlete (17:58) Why brand investment and visibility lag behind para endurance performance More from Dani Aravich: Website: http://daniaravich.com [https://www.daniaravich.com/] Instagram: @theonearmdan [https://www.instagram.com/theonearmdan/] Threads: @theonearmdan [https://www.threads.com/@theonearmdan] More from Zachary Friedley: Website: http://borntoadapt.org [https://www.borntoadapt.org/] Instagram: @trailblader [https://www.instagram.com/trailblader] Threads: @trailblader [https://www.threads.com/@trailblader]

1: How Two Adaptive Athletes Are Rewriting Endurance Sports

Sport is treated as universal. But for many adaptive athletes, the gap starts long before the race itself. It starts with never being told that all sports, even those that require adaptation like running, are possible with gear and tech access. In this first episode, we share our journey and how each of us found endurance sport through chance, not design. A blade that came by mistake. An invite that changed everything. Years of being outside the conversation, even as others talked about diversity. We finally reach start lines that were never built for us. If you want a grounded view of what is actually happening behind the scenes of para sports and para endurance, this conversation will give you some perspective from people who live it everyday. What's Discussed: (01:03) How running was never presented as an option and what that silence costs (02:18) Why getting a running blade still depends on chance, not access (03:29) What it means to grow up without seeing other disabled athletes (06:01) The moment trail running reopened sport, career, and identity (11:04) Why disabled athletes are still missing from diversity conversations in endurance sport (15:36) How one invitation can change an entire athletic trajectory More from Dani Aravich: Website: http://daniaravich.com [https://www.daniaravich.com/] Instagram: @theonearmdan [https://www.instagram.com/theonearmdan/] Threads: @theonearmdan [https://www.threads.com/@theonearmdan] More from Zachary Friedley: Website: http://borntoadapt.org [https://www.borntoadapt.org/] Instagram: @trailblader [https://www.instagram.com/trailblader] Threads: @trailblader [https://www.threads.com/@trailblader]