WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — Is it hard to run a marathon on a prosthetic blade? You’d probably agree the answer is yes. How about completing a triathlon or running 100 miles in less than 19 hours? You’d even more likely say that’s amazing. And you’d say Adam Popp of Golden is awe-inspiring.

Popp joined the Air Force at 18 years old and volunteered to become an explosive ordinance disposal technician. “We removed hazards like roadside bombs and munitions caches to make the roadways safe for my fellow service members, as well as civilians,” he said. He served a tour in Iraq, and then, while on duty in Afghanistan in 2007, he inadvertently detonated an IED that blew off his leg and severely injured his arm.

He woke up in a military hospital in Germany, then spent months stateside experiencing the teamwork and camaraderie that the military applied to his recovery and physical therapy. “I didn’t know what to expect or what was next,” Popp said. “Once I got to Walter Reed (military hospital in Washington DC), it really opened my eyes to the possibilities. When I started to interact with my peer group of other amputees who’d already been there for months, it started to change my mindset. It was tough leaving my unit, whom I’d spent so much time with in combat and other situations. In an instant, that was taken away from me. Finding that new camaraderie and support with individuals who were going through the same experiences was super important.”

He decided to focus that military discipline and intensity into quitting drinking (which was ingrained in the high-stress world he had come from) and joining the athletic world. Within three months of his accident, he was skiing with the Vail Veterans Project. He eventually found his niche in running and triathlons. His first event was with the Vail group doing the Bellingham, Wash. Ski-to-Sea relay, which comprises various legs like skiing, canoeing, and running. Despite only having just begun to run, his team tapped Popp to take on the run portion. “It was in the mud on the melted snow of the ski slopes, so it was pretty miserable. I think I came in fifth-to-last. But it felt incredible. I thought for eight years that this had been taken away from me in 2007. But it’s something I gained back, and I stuck with it and slowly progressed from some 10Ks to half-marathons, and seven months after starting, I did the Richmond (Va.) Marathon.”

With consistent training, Popp ran his first 100-mile race only 19 months after beginning to run on his prosthetic blade. He has progressed to running races like the Boston and Prague Marathons, the JFK 50-miler in Maryland multiple times, the CCC – which is a very difficult 100K trail race in Chamonix, France – and the World Triathlon Para Championships in Yokohama, Japan. He is now the top-ranked U.S. para triathlete and is fourth in the world, and has upcoming championship races in Montreal and the UK. “From that first day it’s been a pretty upward trajectory,” he said.

Running with an above-the-knee prosthetic presents its own set of unique challenges. “Running with a knee is very unstable,” Popp said. “The leg I wear day to day has a computer in it that’s really smart. If I take a misstep, it kind of catches me and provides stability. Whereas when you’re on a running prosthetic, especially one with a mechanical knee on it, there’s none of that, and if you take a misstep, you’re just flat on your butt, and it can be dangerous at times.”

Popp went back to school to earn a master’s degree to become a rehabilitation counselor to provide peer mentorship to others like himself. He is now currently working toward another master’s, in Sports and Performance Psychology from the University of Denver, to help other athletes improve their own sports careers. He got married last year, and he and his wife are now expecting their first child. You can hear more of Popp’s inspirational story on the May 26th episode of the We Are Superman Podcast.

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