Adam Popp

Combining hard-won experience and committed daily practice with a formal education to assist others in overcoming challenges, accomplishing their goals, and maximizing their potential.

Adam is a 12-year combat veteran of the Air Force with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team leader. In 2007, while working to disarm a roadside bomb (IED) in Afghanistan, Adam was injured by a secondary IED resulting in the amputation of his right leg above the knee.

In the years following his injury, Adam endeavored to find meaning and purpose. Ultimately, he found that running, sports, and advocacy work was his path to fulfillment and self-actualization.

Adam, a eight-time Guinness World Record holder, became the first above-knee amputee to complete a 100-mile ultramarathon within 30 hours in 2016, has five 100-mile finishes, and set an amputee record time of 16:13:43 for 100 miles in 2024. He won the 2024 Boston Marathon’s Para Elite division (T61/63) and set a T63 world best of 3:08:52 at the London Marathon just six days later. Adam has six finishes at the JFK 50-miler and set an able-bodied course record at the 2019 Colorado Kickers for Kids Endurance Run while winning the race outright. He has twelve podium finishes in Paratriathlon, including wins at the 2021 and 2022 Americas Triathlon Championships and the 2018 ITU Paratriathlon World Cup, and in 2023, completed a full Ironman in 11:03:06.

These accomplishments would not have been possible without countless mentors and organizations along the way. During the 18 months in which Adam was recovering from his injuries, he  was able to meet and learn from others recovering from a wide range of traumatic injuries and individual challenges. He saw the myriad ways that people handled the process of recovery, many using sport to not only overcome their new adversity, but to rise to a higher level of functioning in the aftermath of trauma. Adam learned, above all, just how instrumental mentors are in this process. By the end of his stay at Walter Reed Medical Center, he made a pledge to himself that he would utilize his experience, understanding, and compassion to help others overcome their individual physical and emotional challenges to reach their maximum potential.

To that end, in his life outside of sports, Adam completed a master’s degree in Rehabilitation and Clinical Counseling from George Washington University and a second master’s degree in Sport & Performance Psychology from the University of Denver. He has served on the Board of Directors of the EOD Warrior Foundation for 13-years, and on the VA Veterans' Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation for three years. He is a certified peer-mentor and peer-mentor trainer through the Amputee Coalition of America and assists amputees and other individuals with disabilities to successfully pursue athletic and other personal endeavors. Additionally, he was featured in Alive, a documentary featuring veterans who have turned to athletics to heal both physically and emotionally from their battle wounds. He has given numerous presentations and speeches on using sport and other innovative wellness interventions to improve mental health, including among others: the 2022 Association for Applied Sport Psychology Southwest Regional Conference, the 2018 American Counseling Association National Conference, the 2017 Maryland Counseling Association Conference, guest speaker at the 56th Annual JFK 50-Mile Legends dinner, and the 2019 keynote speaker for the Hagerstown True Grit Awards (which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated the ability to overcome hardship to become or remain a member of an athletic team).

Adam currently lives and trains in Golden, Colorado, with his wife Amanda and their son.