Achilles Track Club

The Achilles Track Club was established by Dick Traum in 1983 to encourage disabled people to participate in long-distance running with the general public. Achilles has become an international organization that provides support, training, and technical expertise to runners at all levels. Achilles includes people with all kinds of disabilities, such as: visual impairment, stroke, cerebral palsy, paraplegia, arthritis, amputation, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, cancer, traumatic head injury, and many others. With the help of volunteer guides, athletes participate in workouts and races using crutches, wheelchairs, handcycles, prostheses, or without aid at all. Achilles is involved in many local and national running events. Every year the track club sponsors a large number of disabled runners for the New York City Marathon. The 1998 New York City Marathon, for example, had 281 Achilles runners from around the world competing in the 26.2 mile race. Founded in New York City, Achilles has expanded into 40 chapters in the United States and over 110 chapters on six continents, including countries such as Norway, New Zealand, Mongolia, Dominican Republic, Russia, South Africa, Vietnam and Japan. Membership is free. [ http://www.achillestrackclub.org/who/index.html Achilles Track Club]

[http://www.achillestrackclub.org Achilles Homepage]

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