Growing up in rural Missouri, Zach Friedley didn’t know any other kids who looked like him. Zach, who was born missing his right leg above the knee, excelled in sports, wrestling competitively throughout his youth and later in his twenties, training as a runner in an unsuccessful attempt to make it as a Team USA Paralympian. By the mid 2010s, Zach had drifted away from competitive sports. But a move across the country, to the coastal mountains of California changed all that.

“I had this epiphany that all these places—mountains, National Parks, beautiful outdoor locations that I had only really ever experienced from behind the window of a car—were within reach. All I needed was my blade and a trail and the whole world opened up.”

In 2019, Zach accepted a last minute invite to the annual trail running festival, Born to Run, and was in awe of what he saw: people from all over the world coming together to experience the power of movement. But he noticed something: there was no one else who looked like him. He was the only disabled person there. It was at this moment that Zach’s vision for what would become Born to Adapt began to coalesce. With the support of BTR founder and race director Luis Escobar, advisors like Eric Orton, and colleagues including Dani Aravich, the Born to Adapt vision has since grown into a movement where every body is considered welcome on trails.

Since 2021, Born to Adapt has worked with race directors and brands on four continents to make trail events more equitable and accessible to runners with disabilities, elevating the visibility and experience of para athletes around the world.