For Adam Trubow, who is toeing the line at the 2025 Leadville 100 Mile, ultrarunning is about much more than a journey of many miles in a relatively short amount of time. Since 2019, Adam has been using his 100-mile races as opportunities to raise money for charities through his project, 100 Friends for 100 Miles. At this year’s Leadville 100 Mile, Trubow’s goal is to raise $100,000 for Special Olympics New Mexico. The Special Olympics is a non-profit organization offering sports competitions to intellectually disabled athletes, both children and adults, and has local, regional, and national events in addition to the Special Olympics World Games. Special Olympics New Mexico supports about 3,100 athletes in the state. As of race morning, Trubow’s campaign has raised more than $80,500.
Adam Trubow and pacer/Special Olympics athlete Tim Harris at the 2024 Leadville 100 Mile. All photos courtesy of Adam Trubow.
The fundraiser will support 30 athletes who will compete in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games next June in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The USA Games, held under the umbrella of the Special Olympics organization, will host about 3,000 athletes from around the country to participate in 16 different sports. All donations to 100 Friends for 100 Miles will go toward helping families cover the costs of the Games, including uniforms, travel, meals, and accommodations. The goal of $100,000 would provide full support to the New Mexico delegation, which is made up of 47 members, including athletes, coaches, and staff.
“100 Friends for 100 Miles is a way I can make a lasting impact with ultrarunning and feel like I am making a difference within my community,” said Trubow. “We want to provide relief to families to not worry about travel costs with all the turbulence around federal funding and grants. To believe that I can be a moving force behind that is pretty special to me.”
Adam Trubow (left) and his Leadville 100 crew, including his two pacers, Bella Siefert (second from left) and Tim Harris (far right).
Trubow was introduced to ultrarunning by a friend and mentor, and ran his first 100 miler at Leadville in 2018. He has since finished six other 100 milers: Rocky Racoon 100 Mile (2019, 2024), Bighorn 100 Mile (2019), Silverton Ultra 100 Mile (2021), Leadville’s Leadman Series (2022), and Leadville 100 Mile (2024). Trubow fell in love with the ultrarunning community and the experience of running through the entirety of a day. He also recognized the magic that’s possible when a community comes together, and began using his races as opportunities to raise money through the 100 Friends for 100 Miles campaign.
“Our first year was 2019 in Bighorn, where we raised about $10,000,” Trubow shared earlier this week. “Next, in 2021 at the Silverton Ultra, we raised $25,000 for the benefit of Central New Mexico Community College (CNM). In 2022, we raised $35,000 again for CNM, doing the Leadman Series. Finally, in 2024 at the Leadville 100 Mile, we raised $59,000 for Special Olympics New Mexico. Now, at the 2025 Leadville 100 Mile, we have thus far raised $77,000. Our goal is $100,000.”
A New Mexico resident, Trubow owns an apartment complex where he befriended a tenant who’s a Special Olympics athlete. When his friend traveled to Albuquerque to compete in the state’s Special Olympics, Trubow went along and watched him compete in volleyball and flag football. This was Trubow’s first encounter with the Special Olympics, and he was moved by the experience: “The community, the athletes, and the parents of the athletes provided the most authentic connection and motivation I had ever seen — very similar to how it felt around the finish line of an ultramarathon. I thought, ‘Wow, what if we could bring Special Olympics athletes to an ultra and combine the two?’”
Adam Trubow and Special Olympics athlete Tim Harris at the finish of the 2024 Leadville 100 Mile.
At the 2025 Leadville 100 Mile, Trubow is doing just that. He will be crewed by three Special Olympics New Mexico athletes, including Bella Seifert, who will pace him from Half Pipe to Pipeline/Outward Bound, and Tim Harris, who will bring Trubow through the final miles to the finish.
For Trubow, 100 Friends for 100 Miles is a way to bring together the communities he loves and make an impact through running. “Ultrarunners not only run mountains: we can move them,” said Trubow. “Our energy needs to be pooled further so we can collaborate to better our communities even more than these races already do. Our world needs it now more than ever.”
You can donate to Trubow’s campaign and help him reach his fundraising goal.
Call for Comments
- What other ways can we use our running to give back to our communities?
- Have you ever interacted with Special Olympics athletes?
