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Endurance Gap with Dani Aravich and Zachary Friedley

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by Powered by Born to Adapt

5.0(4 reviews)

6 episodes

Updated Daily

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Podcast Overview

In a world where endurance sport is celebrated daily, the stories of para athletes, their mastery, their strategy, and their relentless pursuit of possibility, have lived too long in the shadows. This world is extraordinary, but it's also misunderstood. The stories are powerful, but the systems behind them are complex. And for too long, the athletes driving the sport forward haven't had a place to share the full story. This podcast changes that. Welcome to Endurance Gap with Zachary Friedley and Dani Aravich. Zachary is a trail runner, adaptive athlete, and the founder of Born to Adapt, a movement built around community, visibility, and creating spaces where para athletes can show up fully. Dani is a Paralympian and multi-sport athlete who has competed in both summer and winter sports. They're not just your hosts. They're insiders who have lived the complexity, the beauty, the humor, the frustration, and the evolution of para endurance sport from every angle. Born to Adapt exists because the para endurance community deserves a platform that matches the depth of the athletes within it. Each episode gives you direct access to the athletes, decisions, challenges, and breakthroughs shaping para endurance today. If you want the full picture of this sport, told by the people living it, you're in the right place.

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Publishing Since

5/12/2026

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Recent Episodes

June 17, 2026

5: Amputee Running: The Fit, The Miles, and The Path Forward with Adam Popp

For an amputee runner, wanting to run is only one part of the process. Before the miles, there is the blade. Before the race, there is the socket fit. Before performance can even become the focus, there are questions about access, pain, equipment, prosthetists, race categories, records, and where to find other athletes who have figured out parts of the path already. In this episode of The Endurance Gap, we sit down with Adam Popp, an above-knee amputee runner and ultra-endurance athlete, to talk about what it really takes to build a life in the sport. Adam shares how he went from believing running was no longer an option, to trying a blade years later, to slowly building his way into marathons, ultras, 100-mile finishes, and the Western States start line. But Adam's story also points to a bigger question for para endurance sport: what would change if more athletes had a clearer path from wanting to run to actually being supported in the sport? This conversation looks at the realities behind that path and why better support has to begin long before race day. What's Discussed: (0:02) Adam Popp joins The Endurance Gap as the show's first guest and shares how he came into the amputee running community. (11:11) Why Adam hated running before losing his leg and how he came back to it years later after being told to avoid high-impact activity. (15:11) The early work people do not see, from Adam's first day in a harness to the stop-and-adjust reality of learning to run with a blade. (15:11) Why para athletes need parallel opportunities from brands, not token recognition or one-sided visibility. (24:04) What it takes to get a running blade and socket fit that can actually support long-distance training. (34:13) Adam's Western States experience and the bigger question of how above-knee amputee runners access major trail and ultra races. (44:39) How Boston's para wave, classification system, prize money, start logistics, and accessible race support create a stronger model for para road racing. Listen to this episode of The Endurance Gap to understand what amputee runners are often dealing with before they ever reach the start line, and what better support could look like across equipment access, race pathways, brand partnerships, and endurance sport. More from Dani Aravich: Website: <a href= "https://www.daniaravich.com/">daniaravich.com/ </a> Instagram: <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/theonearmdan/">@theonearmdan </a> Threads: <a href= "https://www.threads.com/@theonearmdan">@theonearmdan</a> More from Zachary Friedley: Website: <a href= "https://www.borntoadapt.org">borntoadapt.org/ </a> Instagram: <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/trailblader">@trailblader </a> Threads: <a href= "https://www.threads.com/@trailblader">@trailblader</a> Find more about Adam Popp: Instagram: <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/eodpopp/?hl=en&utm_source=chatgpt.com"> @eodpopp</a>

June 10, 2026

4: What Makes a Race Actually Ready for Para Athletes

There is a difference between getting into a race and showing up to a race that already has you in mind. For para athletes, that difference can decide whether race week is spent preparing to compete or explaining why they belong there in the first place. In this episode of The Endurance Gap, Dani Aravich and Zachary Friedley break down the 2026 para trail and road scene, including the UTMB Para Trail Summit, Mammoth Trailfest's para podium prize purse, Boston Marathon's para categories, and the race systems that are starting to move beyond basic access. The conversation shows what happens when races do not stop at allowing para athletes into the field, but actually build programming, support, recognition, and competitive opportunities around them. What's Discussed: (23:39) How UTMB North America created para-focused programming through the UTMB Para Trail Summit. (25:05) Why clinics, podium recognition, adaptive athlete policies, and trail opportunities matter for para athletes. (27:08) How Born to Adapt is planning support for athletes pursuing the 2027 UTMB finals. (27:38) Why Mammoth Trailfest adding a para podium prize purse is a major moment for para trail racing. (31:55) What the Boston Marathon shows about para categories, podiums, prize purses, and elite road racing. (34:14) Why Dani is training for Grandma's Marathon with Boston 2027 in mind. If you are deciding where to race next, this episode can help you think about what kind of race deserves your energy. It can help you notice which events are building real systems for para athletes and which ones are still only offering permission without support. More from Dani Aravich: Website: <a href= "https://www.daniaravich.com/">daniaravich.com/ </a> Instagram: <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/theonearmdan/">@theonearmdan </a> Threads: <a href= "https://www.threads.com/@theonearmdan">@theonearmdan</a> More from Zachary Friedley: Website: <a href= "https://www.borntoadapt.org">borntoadapt.org/ </a> Instagram: <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/trailblader">@trailblader </a> Threads: <a href= "https://www.threads.com/@trailblader">@trailblader</a>

June 3, 2026

3: After The Paralympics: What Athletes Need to Know About the Post-Games Blues

The Paralympics can look like the finish line from the outside. But for athletes, the end of the Games can feel a lot more complicated. After four years of training, sacrifice, pressure, sickness, travel, and emotional build-up, the moment can pass quickly and leave athletes trying to process pride, disappointment, exhaustion, unfinished business, and what comes next. In this episode of The Endurance Gap, we talk through Dani's experience at her third Paralympics and what people rarely see after the Games are over. We get into the post-Games blues, what felt different as a veteran athlete, the race that felt closest to a breakthrough, why France could become a full-circle moment, and how Winter and Summer Paralympics feel completely different from inside the athlete's experience. From competing while sick to missing a race-changing shot, from climate concerns threatening winter sport to the way para athletes are still too often framed through overcoming adversity instead of elite performance, this episode looks at why the Paralympic story cannot end at inspiration. It has to include the pressure, strategy, disappointment, media gaps, and performance realities that make para athletes elite competitors. What's Discussed: (00:00) How Dani is feeling two months after the Paralympics. (01:05) Why the post-Games blues can hit athletes no matter how they performed. (02:08) What felt different at Dani's third Paralympics compared to her first two. (03:53) Why Dani is already thinking about another Paralympic cycle. (04:24) Why France feels personal, meaningful, and possibly full circle. (11:01) Why para cross-country and biathlon can feel like a full racing whirlwind. (16:00) How poor snow conditions and climate change are threatening winter sport. (18:42) Why para athletes still need better storytelling, commentary, and media coverage. Listen to this episode of The Endurance Gap to understand what really happens after a Paralympic cycle ends, why the emotional crash after a major goal is not weakness, and how better storytelling can help para endurance athletes be seen for the elite competitors they are. More from Dani Aravich: Website: <a href= "https://www.daniaravich.com/">daniaravich.com/ </a> Instagram: <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/theonearmdan/">@theonearmdan </a> Threads: <a href= "https://www.threads.com/@theonearmdan">@theonearmdan</a> More from Zachary Friedley: Website: <a href= "https://www.borntoadapt.org">borntoadapt.org/ </a> Instagram: <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/trailblader">@trailblader </a> Threads: <a href= "https://www.threads.com/@trailblader">@trailblader</a>

6 total episodes available

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What is Endurance Gap with Dani Aravich and Zachary Friedley?: In a world where endurance sport is celebrated daily, the stories of para athletes, their mastery, their strategy, and their relentless pursuit of possibility, have lived too long in the shadows.

This world is extraordinary, but it's also misunderstood. The stories are powerful, but the systems behind them are complex. And for too long, the athletes driving the sport forward haven't had a place to share the full story.

This podcast changes that. Welcome to Endurance Gap with Zachary Friedley and Dani Aravich.

Zachary is a trail runner, adaptive athlete, and the founder of Born to Adapt, a movement built around community, visibility, and creating spaces where para athletes can show up fully. Dani is a Paralympian and multi-sport athlete who has competed in both summer and winter sports.

They're not just your hosts. They're insiders who have lived the complexity, the beauty, the humor, the frustration, and the evolution of para endurance sport from every angle.

Born to Adapt exists because the para endurance community deserves a platform that matches the depth of the athletes within it.

Each episode gives you direct access to the athletes, decisions, challenges, and breakthroughs shaping para endurance today. If you want the full picture of this sport, told by the people living it, you're in the right place.
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates daily.
Where can I listen to this podcast?: This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Does this podcast accept guests?: Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

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