For Adam Trubow, who’s toeing the road on the 2025 Leadville 100 Mile, ultrarunning is about rather more than a journey of many miles in a comparatively quick period of time. Since 2019, Adam has been utilizing his 100-mile races as alternatives to lift cash for charities by way of his undertaking, 100 Mates for 100 Miles. At this yr’s Leadville 100 Mile, Trubow’s purpose is to lift $100,000 for Particular Olympics New Mexico. The Particular Olympics is a non-profit group providing sports activities competitions to intellectually disabled athletes, each kids and adults, and has native, regional, and nationwide occasions along with the Particular Olympics World Video games. Particular Olympics New Mexico helps about 3,100 athletes within the state. As of race morning, Trubow’s marketing campaign has raised greater than $80,500.
Adam Trubow and pacer/Particular Olympics athlete Tim Harris on the 2024 Leadville 100 Mile. All pictures courtesy of Adam Trubow.
The fundraiser will assist 30 athletes who will compete within the 2026 Particular Olympics USA Video games subsequent June in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The USA Video games, held underneath the umbrella of the Particular Olympics group, will host about 3,000 athletes from across the nation to take part in 16 totally different sports activities. All donations to 100 Mates for 100 Miles will go towards serving to households cowl the prices of the Video games, together with uniforms, journey, meals, and lodging. The purpose of $100,000 would offer full assist to the New Mexico delegation, which is made up of 47 members, together with athletes, coaches, and employees.
“100 Mates for 100 Miles is a means I could make a long-lasting influence with ultrarunning and really feel like I’m making a distinction inside my neighborhood,” mentioned Trubow. “We wish to present aid to households to not fear about journey prices with all of the turbulence round federal funding and grants. To imagine that I generally is a shifting pressure behind that’s fairly particular to me.”
Adam Trubow (left) and his Leadville 100 crew, together with his two pacers, Bella Siefert (second from left) and Tim Harris (far proper).
Trubow was launched to ultrarunning by a pal and mentor, and ran his first 100 miler at Leadville in 2018. He has since completed six different 100 milers: Rocky Racoon 100 Mile (2019, 2024), Bighorn 100 Mile (2019), Silverton Extremely 100 Mile (2021), Leadville’s Leadman Collection (2022), and Leadville 100 Mile (2024). Trubow fell in love with the ultrarunning neighborhood and the expertise of working by way of the whole thing of a day. He additionally acknowledged the magic that’s attainable when a neighborhood comes collectively, and commenced utilizing his races as alternatives to lift cash by way of the 100 Mates for 100 Miles marketing campaign.
“Our first yr was 2019 in Bighorn, the place we raised about $10,000,” Trubow shared earlier this week. “Subsequent, in 2021 on the Silverton Extremely, we raised $25,000 for the advantage of Central New Mexico Neighborhood Faculty (CNM). In 2022, we raised $35,000 once more for CNM, doing the Leadman Collection. Lastly, in 2024 on the Leadville 100 Mile, we raised $59,000 for Particular Olympics New Mexico. Now, on the 2025 Leadville 100 Mile, we now have to date raised $77,000. Our purpose is $100,000.”
A New Mexico resident, Trubow owns an house advanced the place he befriended a tenant who’s a Particular Olympics athlete. When his pal traveled to Albuquerque to compete within the state’s Particular Olympics, Trubow went alongside and watched him compete in volleyball and flag soccer. This was Trubow’s first encounter with the Particular Olympics, and he was moved by the expertise: “The neighborhood, the athletes, and the mother and father of the athletes offered essentially the most genuine connection and motivation I had ever seen — similar to the way it felt across the end line of an ultramarathon. I believed, ‘Wow, what if we might deliver Particular Olympics athletes to an extremely and mix the 2?’”
Adam Trubow and Particular Olympics athlete Tim Harris on the end of the 2024 Leadville 100 Mile.
On the 2025 Leadville 100 Mile, Trubow is doing simply that. He will probably be crewed by three Particular Olympics New Mexico athletes, together with Bella Seifert, who will tempo him from Half Pipe to Pipeline/Outward Sure, and Tim Harris, who will deliver Trubow by way of the ultimate miles to the end.
For Trubow, 100 Mates for 100 Miles is a approach to deliver collectively the communities he loves and make an influence by way of working. “Ultrarunners not solely run mountains: we are able to transfer them,” mentioned Trubow. “Our vitality must be pooled additional so we are able to collaborate to raised our communities much more than these races already do. Our world wants it now greater than ever.”
You possibly can donate to Trubow’s marketing campaign and assist him attain his fundraising purpose.
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