adamrose

General:
Born February 14, 1994.

Diagnosed with leukemia in 1998.

Rare neurotoxic reaction to chemotherapy nearly takes Adam's life less than 4 months later. He is left permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Will be in a wheelchair the rest of his life.

Through it all maintains a positive outlook on life!

Gets all A's and B's in school.

Loves his Xbox 360!

Adam's email:
email1

Dad's email:
email2

note: to prevent spam the email addresses are shown in png image format. They are not clickable or text that can be cut and pasted. You will have to type the address into your email application.

Sports:
Receives a non-racing handcycle in 2000. Begins riding around the neighborhood.

Starts playing wheelchair basketball in spring of 2002 with the Sterling Heights Challengers.

Receives racing handcycle from Athletes Helping Athletes in July 2005. A fantastic organization that has really made a difference in Adam's life! They are a part of Road Runner Sports.

Learns to swim in 2005. Now loves the water!

Begins handcycle racing in 2006.

Sterling Heights Challengers Prep team takes second place at 2006 National Championships.

Sterling Heights Challengers Prep team takes second place again at 2007 National Championships.

Sterling Heights Challengers Junior Varsity team takes FIRST PLACE at 2007 National Championships!

Odometer of racing handcycle reaches 1000 miles in April 2007.

News:

June, 2007
Adam returns from a great weekend at the Paralympic Academy in Colorado Springs! This event was held at the Olympic Training Center.

Adam has a new goal: To qualify for the 2012 US Paralympic Handcycle Team. The 2012 Paralympics will be held in London immediately following the Games of the XXX Olympiad.

Click on photo to see larger image. Adam is in the front row, third from right wearing a hat.

May 12, 2007
2007 Handcycle racing season off to a great start! Adam takes 7th place in a field of 14 men at the 5/3 Riverbank Run 25k (15.5 miles) in Grand Rapids Michigan! With a finish time of 1:17:52 Adam averaged 12mph, almost 2mph faster than his best pace last year! Photo album at bottom of this page.

May 3, 2007
Forty-five Student Athletes with Physical Disabilities Selected for 2007 National Paralympic Academy at Olympic Training Center. Adam Rose of the Challengers was one of those selected. For more info go to the U.S. Paralympics website at:
http://www.usoc.org/paralympics/news_52311.htm

Help Adam continue with wheelchair sports

Wheelchair sports are expensive. The equipment needed is almost all custom made. Mass production efficiencies and cost savings most of us take for granted in able bodied sports are rarely realized in wheelchair sports.

Sports wheelchairs and handcycles cost thousands of dollars. Adam has outgrown his basketball wheelchair. He has received a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation that will cover a little over half the cost of a new one. Adam has to make up the difference, over $1000.

Furthermore, to participate in wheelchair sports at any competitive level the athlete needs to travel. Adam's wheelchair basketball team travels thousands of miles each year to compete in tournaments. There are only three junior wheelchair basketball teams in Michigan. Most tournaments are out of state. Each year it costs thousands of dollars for Adam to travel and play in wheelchair basketball tournaments.

There are only a handful of handcycle races in Michigan. Again, to be competitive, Adam travels across the state and out of state to compete.

Adam would like a more advanced handcycle for racing. Invacare makes a hot new racing machine called the Force. Here is a photo:

As pictured above this handcycle costs around $5000.

If you would like to help Adam achieve his goals in wheelchair sports consider making a tax deductible donation to:

The Michigan Wheelchair Athletic Association (MWAA) is a non-profit volunteer organization whose interest is in promotion of wheelchair sporting events and providing resources and education to the community.

The group promotes, organizes and finances the annual wheelchair games, and helps to promote wheelchair sports throughout Michigan.

MWAA is affiliated with Wheelchair Sports, USA (WSUSA), the international Wheelchair Athletic Association and numerous other professional and amateur sporting and wheelchair sporting organizations.

Donations can be made in the name of a specific athlete and will only be used by that athlete to compete in his sports.

Make a check out to:

MWAA - Adam Rose

And send it to:

Adam Rose
15025 Ardley Hall Ct.
Shelby Twp, MI 48315

It will get deposited in Adam's account at MWAA. Remember, all donations are fully tax decuctible!

Wheelchair basketball player

Handcyclist

Adam began racing his handcycle in 2006. He was 12 years old.
Adam did the four races below:

Race 1: Mini Indy Half Marathon - Indianapolis, Indiana
The largest half marathon in the United States - 35,000 runners!
Adam's first race. Unsure what to expect, he was nervous before the start but did not show it.
At about the halfway point of this race the course goes onto the Indy 500 track.
Everyone gets to do one lap around the race course. Adam was really looking forward
to this part of the race!

40 minutes before the start this reporter asked if Adam would mind being interviewed on live TV. 60 seconds later he was on! His bike can be seen in the background. Several times during the day people said "I saw you on TV this morning!"

Here we are just minutes before the start. Race Director Don Carr sets up the start. He was great helping Adam get entered in the race. Behind Adam there are 35,000 runners lined up ready to go!!! It took over half an hour for everyone to cross the start line after the gun.

Adam is just visible here finishing the Mini Marathon. His official time was 1:14:50. The wheelers started several minutes before the runners clock.

Race 2: Crim 10 Mile Road Race - Flint, Michigan
One of the largest runs in Michigan. And also one of the largest handcycle events.
This time Adam had a better idea what to expect. He was really eager to do this one.

A Flint TV station found out about Adam. They came to his house a few days before the race to do an interview.

Just before the start. Adam in the middle of a fairly large handcycle field. All other racers are adults. He is the only child.

Just past the two mile mark!

Crossing the finish of the 10 mile race with a good time!

And then getting interviewed on TV again!

Race 3: The Air Force Marathon - Dayton, Ohio
Adam's first full marathon.

4 handcyclists entered this marathon. Again Adam is the only child. He was eager to do a full marathon but a little nervous about the hilly course. There is a 185 foot climb over the first 1.6 miles, and other shorter but steeper climbs farther out on the course.


Finishing the 2006 Air Force Marathon in Dayton Ohio...	...and receiving the finishers medal from a 4-star General!!!

Receiving a trophy for third place. This was Adam's favorite race of the year. The course was fun but challenging. Adam is a real Air Force fan. He can identify just about any fighter or bomber from World War II to present day. Racing his handcycle on a course that wraps all around Wright Patterson Air Force Base, then finishes in front of the Air Force Museum was a real treat. This is one race he will not miss in coming years!

The finishers medal was the best Adam received all year too!

Race 4: The Free Press Marathon - Detroit, Michigan
Final race of the year, second marathon of the year, and close to home too!

A TV crew spotted Adam and started this interview only 90 seconds before the start! They barely got out of the way before the gun. Once again Adam is the only child entered in the race.

Adam gives a thumbs up just past the 9 mile mark. The temperature was in the low 30's at the start with wind gusts hitting 30 mph all through the race! It was a tough day for all the wheelers and handcyclists.

But nothing was going to stop Adam from finishing! He was a little slower than the Air Force Marathon. But not by much, considering the last 5 miles was into the teeth of the 20-30 mph wind.

Happy to have finished on a tough day!
The finish line is at the 50 yard line of Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions.

Adam shows his finisher's medal alongside a proud Dad!

2007 Race Season starts with
5/3 Riverbank Run 25k in Grand Rapids Michigan
Click on the photo below to go to the album.
Within the photo album you can select the magnifying glass icon to see larger images.
The best way to view all images is with the Slideshow function.

5/3 Riverbank Run 25k - Handcycles and Wheelers

more coming soon...

Until then check out Adam's team:

The Sterling Heights Challengers Junior Wheelchair Basketball Team
2007 National Champs in Junior Varsity!!!