Stories

By: Antoine Craig I was a freshman at VCU. I was at the gym with a friend and she challenged me to run with her. I said, ‘I don’t run.’ But she persisted so I took a shoelace out of my shoe and attached it to our wrists. We started jogging the track. Then running.…

By: Jasmine Rich It’s not that I hadn’t heard about Sportable before – it’s just that my mom and I had assumed we couldn’t afford it. Then one day, I was in a local comic book store and was approached by a friendly girl – a fellow wheelchair user – and her mom. Hannah told…

By: Ricky Jones I’m pedaling down a scenic trail, feeling the wind on my face, and experiencing a sense of freedom I haven’t felt in years. A decade ago, I didn’t think this would be possible again after a tractor-trailer accident nearly took my life. I’m still dealing with multiple injuries including head trauma, chronic…

Written by: Danica King “I saw on Facebook that a Sportable athlete completed the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K in a wheelchair. I thought, ‘I can do that,’ and attempted to train at a track in my everyday wheelchair. I struggled and took 23:22 to make one lap. I called Sportable. I was told I should…

By: Robin Yoder, Sportable Athlete In April of 2021, I participated in the Sportable running program. We were still very much dealing with COVID but this was an outdoor program and for the first time it was being held in Chesterfield County near my home, at Swift Creek Middle School. I hadn’t done much running…

Amy Ridolphi decided to become a Sportable Booster Club member (a monthly donor to Sportable) during the pandemic. She recalls observing how Sportable worked so hard to keep athletes active and engaged while other nonprofits shut their doors temporarily or even permanently.