Team adaptive
Launched in 2024 thanks to a HOKA UTMB Mont-Blanc initiative, Team Adaptive was founded with the goal of redefining the place of athletes with disabilities in trail running. As a natural extension of our inclusion policy, it aims to open the sport to all athletes, ensuring sustainable accessibility and opportunity for those with disabilities.
Who can join Team Adaptive?
Team Adaptive welcomes athletes who meet the criteria of our Adaptive policy — those who can run independently but whose disabilities make race participation more challenging. These criteria, whether visual, intellectual, or physical, justify the potential need for assistance to ensure a safe and optimal running experience. We continuously review these criteria, incorporating runner feedback to maintain a fair and evolving framework for all.
Assistance, if required, is primarily provided through a guide, offering support with safety, navigation, or direct assistance such as carrying spare prostheses.
All individuals eligible under our Adaptive policy are invited to apply to join Team Adaptive. However, applications for the 2026 edition are now closed.
Through the Adaptive initiative, individuals with disabilities or illnesses that meet the criteria gain improved access to our races. Team Adaptive fosters a sense of belonging, unity and collective effort.
Our vision is simple: one day, we will no longer need to justify the existence of Team Adaptive. One day, we will no longer speak of inclusion, only of sport. On that day, we will have fulfilled our mission.
Unique courses for a shared adventure
The 2026 Team Adaptive brings together athletes from diverse backgrounds, living with visible and invisible disabilities, yet united by a shared passion for trail running and pushing their limits.
Boris Ghirardi – Team Adaptive Manager
Boris Ghirardi, known as ‘Pied de Robot’, transformed the amputation he underwent following a motorcycle accident in 2019 into a driving force for innovation and inclusion in sport. As Manager of UTMB Team Adaptive, he champions uncompromising accessibility in outdoor sports.
He has contributed to the development of adapted equipment with the start-up Hopper and is the founder of the association Level Up – Au-delà des limites, supporting amputees on their journey towards sporting autonomy.
His message is clear: “Sport is a level playing field, where every challenge should be within reach for everyone, without exception.”
Action rather than words: we want to prove on the ground that performance and passion have no limits.
Claire Verzaux — France — CCC
Claire has been part of Team Adaptive since the very beginning of the initiative. Born with agenesis of the right forearm, now married and a mother of three, she has found in running a powerful outlet for self-expression and personal achievement.
After taking part in the MCC in 2024 and the OCC in 2025, Claire returns this year with an even more ambitious challenge: lining up for the CCC. This is a natural progression for a runner who has already completed several long-distance events, including two marathons and two 80km Eco-Trail races.
She perfectly embodies the spirit of Team Adaptive: progressing step by step, overcoming obstacles, and opening the way to new possibilities in trail running.
Fanny Barbara — France — UTMB
Fanny returns for her second year with Team Adaptive and will once again take on the UTMB. Following the complete removal of her left lung in 2014 due to a neuroendocrine tumour, the French trail runner turned this life-changing experience into a source of motivation—starting with short walks before progressing to ultra-trail races.
Since then, Fanny has continued her journey in ultra-trail with remarkable determination. After completing the UTMB last year, she notably finished the Diagonale des Fous, confirming her ability to tackle some of the most demanding races on the calendar.
A seasoned long-distance runner, she has also achieved a 6th-place finish in the women’s category at the Gran Trail Trangoworld Aneto-Posets 2024 and secured victory in the same category at the Maxi Race Madeira Ultra, demonstrating that performance and resilience can go hand in hand on the trails.
Franck Derrien — France — MCC
Franck is a French ultra-trail runner with Asperger’s syndrome. A vice-champion of France in adapted sport, he uses running to manage his condition.
His passion helps him push his limits and find balance. He shares his journey alongside his childhood teddy bear, Teddy, on social media—illustrating that anything is possible despite disability.
Franck has broken the 3-hour barrier in marathon distance and completed 100km in under 10 hours. Having completed the MCC in 2024 and the OCC in 2025, he returns to the MCC in 2026.
Guillaume Pick — France — TDS
Guillaume is passionate about trail running and exploration. Deaf since birth, he communicates using French Sign Language.
For over 10 years, he has stood out for his determination, endurance and mental strength, taking on each challenge with a smile and proving that his hearing impairment does not prevent him from fully embracing his passion for trail running.
In 2024, he left a lasting impression with an emotional finish at the UTMB, before following this up with a strong performance at the OCC in 2025. Building on these experiences on the Mont-Blanc trails, Guillaume takes on the TDS in 2026 - one of the toughest races of the week.
Jonathan Naboulet & Trail Sans Limite — France — UTMB
Following a rugby accident that left him quadriplegic, Jonathan has never lost his love for wide open spaces and the mountains.
Through the association Trail Sans Limite, which he co-founded, Jonathan and his team aim to demonstrate that the mountains are accessible to all, regardless of the obstacles. This collective project, driven by friendship and a shared passion for trail running, embodies resilience and a spirit of adventure.
After completing the OCC in 2024, Jonathan and his team stepped up to the CCC in 2025, demonstrating the strength of their 42-strong support team, who take turns pushing the joëlette along the course.
In 2026, they set their sights even higher by taking on the UTMB. While joëlettes have already been seen on certain race formats, none has yet attempted to complete the UTMB within the official time limits. It is an extraordinary challenge, approached with unwavering determination as they continue to push the boundaries of what once seemed possible.
Julien Veysseyre — France — UTMB
Julien underwent a below-knee amputation following a workplace accident at the age of 18. He found in sport a way to rebuild himself and push beyond his limits.
A world champion in cross-triathlon in 2023, Julien has been competing on the international endurance circuit for several years.
After completing the MCC in 2024 and the CCC in 2025, he continues his progression within Team Adaptive. In 2026, he will take on an even greater challenge by lining up for the UTMB, with a clear goal: to become the first amputee athlete to finish the race.
Maria Petit — Spain — ETC
Maria is a Catalan athlete who is blind and has pushed the limits of what is possible in both running and mountaineering. Despite her visual impairment, she has summited peaks such as Aneto (3,404m) and Kilimanjaro (5,895m).
To run in the mountains, she uses a directional bar, a device that allows her to move alongside her guide across technical terrain and compete in demanding races such as Behobia–San Sebastián and Trail Gorbeia Suzien.
Her message is clear: “I am a blind person, full stop.” She is an inspiration through her determination not to let her disability define her limits. After taking part in the MCC in 2025, Maria returns for her second year with Team Adaptive and will take on the ETC in 2026.
Nicolas Ronget — France — MCC
Nicolas is a physiotherapist from Lyon who has been visually impaired since birth. Passionate about sport, he discovered trail running in 2021 and quickly became fully committed to it, finding in the discipline a profound sense of freedom.
Committed to improving opportunities for athletes with disabilities in trail running, Nicolas advocates for the development of more para-sport categories in competitions.
After a first experience at the OCC in 2024, he returns for his third year with Team Adaptive and will take on the MCC in 2026.
Pol Makuri Redolad Garcia — Spain — OCC
Pol is a Spanish Paralympic athlete living with cerebral palsy. A lifelong sports enthusiast, he has practised mountaineering, roller hockey, cross-country skiing and trail running.
A regular on the international circuit, he has competed in the SkyRunning World Series and the Golden Trail World Series, and represented Spain in cross-country skiing at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games.
Driven by his love of the mountains and a strong competitive spirit, Pol returns to the OCC in 2026 after racing the MCC in 2024 and the OCC in 2025.
Travis Warwick-Oliver — South Africa — PTL
Travis Warwick-Oliver is a South African athlete who underwent a below-knee amputation following a serious motorcycle accident several years ago. Running, already part of his life before the accident, became central to his rehabilitation.
He is the founder of the non-profit organisation Rejuvenate SA, which provides mobility support to those in need in South Africa.
A passionate mountain runner, Travis has steadily built strong experience in ultra-trail. After finishing the OCC in 2024 and starting the CCC in 2025, he takes on an extraordinary challenge in 2026: the PTL.
Travis could become the first amputee athlete to take on this legendary race—one of the most extreme challenges in trail running.
Yanis Debaud — France — UTMB
Yanis, 23, is a former player for Rugby Club Nîmois (RCN). Following a serious accident in 2023 that caused damage to his sciatic nerve, he now lives with paralysis affecting the muscles responsible for lifting and stabilising the foot. In response, he turned to running as a new way to push his limits and redefine what is possible.
In 2025, Yanis made a strong impression by finishing the UTMB in 36 hours. He returns in 2026 for his second participation with Team Adaptive, aiming to improve his time and relive the intensity of this iconic race around Mont Blanc.
Pierre Cabon — France — MCC
Pierre Cabon, 35, from Paris, has been paraplegic since the Bataclan attack in 2015. Passionate about travel and adventure, he founded Wheeled World in 2018—a media platform dedicated to accessible adventure.
His mission is clear: to show that disability is not a barrier to exploration, slow travel or immersion in nature.
After crossing New Zealand by tandem in 2020 and climbing Kilimanjaro in 2022, he became the first wheelchair finisher of the Marathon des Sables in 2023. From sand to tarmac, he takes on distances up to marathon length.
More motivated than ever to change the perception of disability in sport, in 2026 he will take on the MCC alongside six teammates, using an adapted wheelchair to fully participate in this shared effort.
©Marathon des Sables
Louis Pech — France — TDS
Louis lives with cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition affecting the respiratory and digestive systems. A lifelong sportsman, he sees physical activity as essential to both his wellbeing and his treatment.
Passionate about mountains and endurance sports, he has practised a wide range of disciplines - from basketball and swimming to mountain biking and mountaineering, including summiting Mont Blanc in 2021. He has been dedicated to trail running for over ten years.
In 2025, he achieved one of his dreams by starting the UTMB, becoming the first person with cystic fibrosis to take on the challenge. In 2026, he returns to the Mont-Blanc trails with a new objective: the TDS, a race that is particularly close to his heart.
Committed to raising awareness of the condition, Louis also featured in the documentary RESPIRE, released in 2025 on Amazon Prime, which explores advances in cystic fibrosis treatment and the role of sport.
Mick Marshall — Australia — OCC
Mick was involved in a serious workplace accident in 2021, resulting in significant damage to both of his lower limbs. A bilateral lower-limb athlete, he returned to the sport he loves: trail running.
Travelling from Australia, his comeback has taken him to unexpected heights, including world records and a finish line he once only dreamed of reaching.
An MCC finisher in 2025, he steps up to the OCC in 2026, proving that giving up is never the answer - and that anything is possible.
Sabine Galpin-Ossonce — France — UTMB
Sabine was not destined for sport. It was the diagnosis of Lyme disease - and the suggestion that sport would now be more difficult—that prompted her to take up running. She started gradually, progressing from a half marathon to a marathon, before discovering ultra-trail.
For several years, Sabine has also lived with endometriosis. Two conditions, but the same drive to keep moving forward and to show that illness or disability can be transformed into strength.
In 2026, she will line up for the UTMB for the third time - and for the first time as part of Team Adaptive. She will be accompanied by her husband Jean, who will run alongside her.
