Posted on May 9, 2025
Speed & Spirit: Elite Wheelchair and Handcycle Athletes Ready for Amway River Bank Run
This weekend, racers of all abilities are heading to downtown Grand Rapids for the 48th annual Amway River Bank Run. Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports welcomes the wheelchair and handcycle divisions featuring 33 athletes from 13 states and Spain, showcasing talent from West Michigan and across the nation.
The River Bank Run is the largest road race in the country, and the only race in the world to offer a 25K wheelchair racing division. The Wheelchair and Handcycle Divisions are exciting for spectators with push-rim racers reaching speeds near 20 mph and hand cyclists exceeding 30 mph. The Handcycle division race starts at 8:15 a.m. followed by the Wheelchair division at 8:16 a.m. on race day.
The Mary Free Bed Guild has sponsored the River Bank Run Wheelchair Division for 35 years and the Handcycle Division for 19 years. The Guild provides financial support for the race, including $29,000 in prize money split between the two divisions. Guild members will be present throughout race day, dropping flags to start the races, volunteering at the finish line tent, and hosting a post-race reception. Additionally, 25 Mary Free Bed employees will volunteer on race day to ensure everything runs smoothly for the athletes.
Athletes to Watch
In the wheelchair division, Santiago Sanz from Spain returns as both a competitor in the quad division and coach to Norbert Holowat from New York. Hannah Babalola, a former Nigerian athlete now living in Chicago, will defend her title in the women’s division after winning last year. Babalola is a two-time Paralympian, having competed in both Rio and Paris.
The handcycle division has grown in numbers this year, featuring many returning 2024 division winners alongside new faces. Tom Davis, the current course record holder with a time of 38:16 set in 2018, returns to compete. As a paracycling coach, Davis will be looking to outpace his student Steve Chapman, also from the Mary Free Bed Handcycling Team.
Spotlight: Casey Falkner
Among the competitors is Casey Falkner, a Mary Free Bed alumni who joined the Mary Free Bed Handcycle Team three years ago following a spinal cord injury from a car accident. Last year’s River Bank Run marked Falkner’s first 25K race, where he impressively placed third overall and first in the para division.
“When I first got injured, I had no idea that adaptive sports like this even existed,” Falkner said. “The more I rode, the more I got into it, the competitive aspect of racing and meeting tons more people at the races. It was kind of something that snowballed pretty quickly,”
Falkner has recently taken on the role of co-coach for the team while continuing to compete at an elite level. This spring, he placed third at the Boston Marathon and has competed at nationals in Wisconsin and the Florida Swap Classic. A father of two, Falkner balances family life with his athletic pursuits and consulting work.
MEDIA COVERAGE:
FOX 17 – Mary Free Bed hand cycler gearing up for River Bank Run
