Help Amputee Blade Runners raise enough money to enable two individuals to realize their dreams of running free. Our goal is to raise $77,000, which would be enough funding to give the joy of running to 22 athletes with limb differences. Insurance will not cover the cost of a running leg, and the cost can range anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000 per leg! Our mission is to help lower limb different individuals of all ages reimagine what is possible in sports and in life.
Thanks to the generosity of the Dugas Family Foundation, all donations will be matched up to $25,000!
This will be our first SoCal Ragnar but have been fielding Ragnar teams for years. Between our 12 runners we have 12 prosthetic blades and 3 prosthetic knees. Over the past dozen years, ABR has provided FREE running and sports legs to hundreds of amputees is dozens of states.
Ryan Fann
Ryan is the co-founder oduf ABR and certifed prosthetist (CP). Ryan’s journey into prosthetics started when he was 3 years old. Ryan was ran over while on his big wheel riding in his neighborhood resulting in losing his left leg below the knee. Ryan went on to play sports throughout middle school and high school. Ryan was a starting linebacker for his high school when playing in a TN all star game a prosthetic company offered to make him a running leg and Ryan then went on to run track at Tennessee State University (TSU) with the able bodied athletes the first to do so in TN. Ryan then ran with the US Paralympic track program earning multiple Gold and Bronze medals in the Paralympics.
Daryl Farler
Daryl has been part of the ABR from the very beginning back in 2011. In 2006 he was scratched by his then girlfriend (now wife) Chevonne's dog, in the corner of his left eye and contracted a virus that caused septic shock. This resulted in Daryl losing both legs below the knee, multiple fingers, and sight in one eye. Daryl began running to improve his health but soon got his competitive spirit back in gear. Daryl has completed numerous half marathons, a half Ironman, and is a repeat Endeavor Games Sprint Triathlon Champion for his classification. Daryl was also chosen by John Hancock to compete in the 120th and 121st Boston Marathon. Daryl is proof that a single gift can change a person.
Chris Madison
I lost my right foot below the knee in a boating accident when I was 10 years old. Following multiple surgeries, rehab and learning to walk again, I was back to playing sports the following summer. However, I was slow as dirt and had the mobility of a rock stuck in the mud. While I went on to play 4 years of high school baseball, I was constantly adapting my technique to make up for the lack of technology in prosthetics in the late 80′ and early 90’s.
My sports story starts following my career as a police officer and eventually graduating law school and becoming an attorney. In 2013, I completed my first triathlon, a sprint distance race hosted by my local city. While I finished 3rd from last, I knew I could do better, if I had the right tools, i.e. leg! I began researching running blades and sports prosthesis and discovered a whole world of opportunities existed. I was fit with my running blade from a local prosthetist and became involved with Amputee Blade Runners, as I recognized the immediate benefit proper sports prosthesis could provide to old and young alike.
Joshua Southards
A long-time fan of ABR, Joshua's connection to ABR was profoundly changed in March, 2017, Joshua ran the Tennessee Ragnar Relay for the first time. While on the course, he encountered the ABR Ragnar team and was drawn to the endurance, competitiveness, and camaraderie shown by ABR athletes. Within a few months, Joshua became Amputee Blade Runners' first full-time executive director. He has participated in 6 Ragnar Relays and is thrilled to be a part of the 2025 team.
Sabrina Reiswig
I have always had a “watch me” attitude when anyone told me I “couldn’t” do something, and because of that, I’ve always pushed the boundaries of what I was able to do. Before I’d lost my leg at a young age (8-years-old) to a rare bone cancer (Ewing’s Sarcoma), I had already developed a love for running at recess on the elementary school playground. After years of chemotherapy and the amputation of my left leg through the knee, I was finally cancer free. It didn’t take very long before I was back to running, riding my bike, and playing with my friends in the neighborhood. Throughout my middle school and high school years I competed in wrestling and softball as well as participated in track and field during my off seasons. I never stopped moving. That was until I attended college. Paying for college meant working three jobs instead of sports.
Many years went by before I’d picked up the love of anything athletic. In the Fall of 2014, I joined my first Crossfit gym, drank the Koolaid, and thus the barbells just kept getting heavier. I have many motivators that continually inspire me push harder at being an athlete. I realized after the birth of my youngest daughter that getting fit again was a must. How was I supposed to take care of two babies (both under four years old) if I couldn’t keep up with them. I also volunteer for organizations like Amputee Blade Runners (ABR) and Camp Nubability. I also coach grappling at Camp Nubability in DuQuoin, IL, which is a camp for limb different kids and their families. This leads me to my biggest motivator, helping other amputees consider active life styles, develop positive body images, and become helping hands in the amputee community. Fitness is wellness on many levels and I strive to get the able-bodied community to ditch their assumptions about what individuals with disabilities can accomplish and extend an invitation to anyone to get involved in anything athletic.
Koni Dole
Koni suffered an injury on the football field while in high school. After multiple surgeries, Koni had is right leg amputated below the knee. Never one to let circumstances dictate his life, Koni worked hard to return to the field. Koni played football for Montana State and was known as the "excuse eliminator" on the team. Koni became part of the ABR family in 2018, and loves hiking, snowboarding, running, and more.
Bryn Southards
Bryn did not see herself as an athlete until well into adulthood. One night she dreamt that she ran, and that she enjoyed it. She decided to give running a try and it quickly became apparent she was a natural. This will be her fourth Ragnar Relay, and first with ABR. Bryn is the wife of Joshua, and is involved in ABR in numerous ways. A physician assistant with broad experience in orthopedics and medicine, the team is grateful for her presence.
John Liles
Tanya Khvitsko-Trimborn
Tanya has congenital differences in both legs. Originally from Belarus, her limb differences were caused by the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, which took place in 1986. After spending parts of her childhood in the US, she has made Kansas City home since 2008. Several years ago she began running on a pair of her first running blades. She recently retired her last pair of running blades, having put 12,000 miles on them, collectively. Her journey has included multiple 5Ks, 10Ks, full and half-marathons. In 2024, she won her division of the Boston Marathon. She states that running has given her confidence and allows her to be a mentor for other amputees, as well as non-amputees.
Samantha Gower
In 2020 Sam had sepsis as a result of a virus. As an ICU nurse she was not ignorant of the possibilities. Amputations were performed on both feet and one hand. A wife and mother of two children, Sam didn't stay down for long. A life-long athlete and competitor, Sam immediately set her sights on activity goals. One year after her amputations she competed in her a triathlon. Sam has been part of the ABR family for four years, and has since completed a half IronMan, the Bourbon Chase, and many other races.
John Van Haren
John suffered a crush injury to his foot in a motocross accident in 2006, and ultimately he underwent amputation in 2010, with a revision a few years later. John was grateful regain some function, but still felt like he was always bringing up the rear when being active with his family. John became part of the ABR family nearly a decade ago, when Ryan Fann fit him for his running leg. Since that time, John has competed in innumerable runs and sports events, including being on Team ABR for multiple Ragnar Relays.
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*All funds raised through this campaign will go directly to helping amputees realize their dreams of Running FREE.
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