Community Highlights: Meet Amy Harris of Achilles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Harris.

Hi Amy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My educational background is in special education and pediatric rehabilitation. My career was always focused on working with people with disabilities, primarily serving the population from birth to adulthood. I adopted two girls at birth (later would add a young adult who has become a third daughter!). When my youngest daughter was around 8 months of age, she was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy—fast forward many years to when my daughter Lizzy was 17. We were in Cinncinati, Ohio. I was there to run the Flying PPIg Marathon, and Lizzy was my biggest cheerleader at any finish line. At this race, we saw numerous young athletes wearing neon yellow shirts that said, Achilles. These athletes were mostly blind and were being guided by another runner; other athletes were using wheelchairs or handcycles. At the race’s conclusion, Lizzy commented that it would be fun for us to do together if Nashville had an organization like Achilles. Having never heard of Achilles, once home, I searched to learn more about this organization that served a similar population as Lizzy and those I worked with. Imagine my surprise to learn that Nashville had a chapter here that had just started a few weeks before my search. While I never dreamed this would be an activity that Lizzy would stick with, she is much more of a reader. Having never participated in many sports-wise, it was worth checking out. And so we did, that was over ten years ago, and today we serve as Executive Director (me) and Assistant Director (Lizzy).

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have to say that things have been very smooth. I started as a volunteer guide and Lizzy as an athlete. The women who founded Achilles – Sarah Hart & Melanie Yappen – were very strong leaders. The founding board and members developed a strong program from the start, and by the time Sarah & Melanie passed on the reins. I took on the role of Assistant Director under a new director Carrie Redmon. The foundation had been laid, systems were in place, and the chapter grew with more athletes and guides participating. A few years later, I took over as Director with Lizzy as Assistant Director. The challenges we face are good challenges, such as: figuring out how to continue to grow our program or raising funds necessary to support our athletes in races, local and out of state. One challenge our organization faces is transportation for people with disabilities. Many depend on the Metro Access Ride system, which does not transport out of Davidson County. This makes it hard to provide training or participate in races in any areas surrounding Davidson County. A more recent challenge and hopefully not ongoing transportation is how we can grow our program with tandem cycling. Many of our wheeled athletes can race in bike or running races. To allow more opportunities for the visually impaired athletes, we recently purchased three tandem cycles with the help of a grant from the TN Disability Coalition. We are in the process of finding a consistent time and place to train and meet the needs of our athletes without overworking our volunteer guides and directors!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Our Nashville Chapter of Achilles is an affiliate chapter of a larger organization, Achilles International. There are approximately 65 Achilles Chapters worldwide, all serving athletes with disabilities. While we are a non-profit organization that is primarily focused on running, running for an Achilles athlete is any forward movement towards the finish, run, walk, or roll. Achilles International, Achilles Nashville, and all the chapters worldwide break down barriers to race start lines and empower the disability community to cross the finish line. Achilles transforms the lives of people with disabilities through athletic programs and social connections. In our Nashville Chapter, one thing that sets us apart from other running groups is our ability to serve such a diverse group of individuals, from young to old, from slow to fast, and everything in between. Seeing the strong bonds that develop between our athletes and the guides is beyond measure. I am most proud when I hear over and over from the guides that they feel they get as much, if not more, than they give.

Celebrate disability inclusion at the 9th annual Achilles Hope & Possibility® 1-Miler & 5K Presented by Treasure. On October 1st, 2022, Achilles Nashville will host its 9th annual Hope & Possibility® Race at the Richland Creek Greenway, starting and ending at the 51st Avenue North/ Nevada Avenue Trailhead in Nashville. Hope & Possibility® is the signature race of Achilles International, founded in 2003 by Trisha Meili to honor her remarkable recovery after her attack in Central Park. Her NY Times best-selling book is titled I Am the Central Park Jogger, A Story of Hope and Possibility. The Hope & Possibility® Race welcomes athletes of all abilities, from elite runners to walkers to wheelers. Registration is now open!

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
So many! I come from a very supportive, loving family. We moved a lot as my father’s job required that. My grandmother lived with us and always had her little suit. I remember going over her area of the home and having “coffee,” or at least what she told me was coffee, likely mostly milk, a drop of coffee for color, and sugar but priceless conversations and time well spent! So I think moving to a new place with my family, building new homes, meeting new people, and exploring new neighborhoods.

Contact Info:

• Website: achillesnashville.org
• Instagram: @Achillesnashville
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AchillesInternationalNashville
• Twitter: @AchillesNash

Image Credits
Photos compliments of Achilles Nashville