GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — More than 30 wheelchair and handcycle athletes will race in the Amway River Bank Run this year. The run will be held on Saturday, May 14 in Grand Rapids.
The wheelchair and handcycle divisions are sponsored by Mary Free Bed. Racers in the wheelchair division will come from all throughout the United States. There will also be racers from Canada and Spain. One of racers in the division will be Matt Tingley, a hand cyclist from Rochester Hills. Tingley is currently the leader of the Mary Free Bed Handcycle team. He will be competing this year to defend his 2021 title.
Kate Brim from Lowell is another hand cyclist that will race. Last year was the first time she competed in the River Bank Run. After complications from a minor surgery led to a spinal cord injury, she started to compete in sports. “[It] set a fire in me,” said Brim, “I’m not going to let this define where I go in life.” She is also involved with the Grand Rapids Thunder wheelchair rugby team.
Not only is the Amway River Bank Run the largest road race in the country, it is also the only race in the world that offers a 25K wheelchair racing division. The 2022 run will be the 32nd consecutive year that the Mary Free Bed Guild has sponsored the wheelchair division, and the 16th year of sponsoring the handcycle division. $29,200 in prize money will be awarded between the two divisions.
The 2022 Amway River Bank Run will be held on Saturday, May 14. The race will start at 8:15 a.m.
