A version of the following article appeared in the June 5, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Charity Spotlight: He needed a running guide. Now he's building a community.
Limitless Para Athletes founder Eric Strong (pictured left rock climbing) founded the nonprofit last year to help connect individuals with disabilities with a volunteer to help them achieve their fitness goals. (Photos courtesy of Limitless Para Athletes)
by Lindsey Banks
After losing much of his vision following a surgery in 2015, Eric Strong found himself struggling with depression. He had run track and field in high school, and being active was an important part of his life.
Then, a blind individual at his job and some inspiration from the 2016 Summer Paralympics showed Strong something that changed his outlook entirely: he could still run.
Flash forward two years, and Strong, 43, was competing in races ranging from 5Ks to ultramarathons. He’s run a few 100-mile races and has run the Boston Marathon eight times, with a personal record of 3:09:37 (an average 7:14/mile pace).
But he didn’t do it alone, and the more he trained, the more he realized other people with disabilities needed the same thing he did to get back on the track.
“For me, being a blind athlete, it’s always been difficult for me to find volunteers [to run with]”, Strong said. Visually impaired athletes benefit from someone who can guide them and match their pace, and for an athlete training for a marathon, that’s a huge time commitment. It’s what led him to create Limitless Para Athletes, a Charlotte nonprofit that helps people with disabilities participate in physical activities and pursue their fitness goals.
“Over 70% of visually impaired and disabled people have some type of health condition due to a sedentary lifestyle,” said Strong, whose day job is at Lions Services, a nonprofit that helps connect blind and visually impaired people with employment opportunities.
Strong said he had been doing similar work since 2016 through partnerships with other organizations, including Lions Services, but Limitless Para Athletes officially became a nonprofit last year. The organization launched its weekly walk program this spring.
Today, Limitless Para Athletes works primarily with adults and currently serves about 14 athletes, including walkers, runners and rock climbers. The organization is supported by approximately 10 to 11 volunteers, though availability varies from week to week. (Strong said he’s looking for more volunteers.)
Weekly walks at Freedom Park are the organization's primary activity, but Limitless Para Athletes supports a variety of fitness interests and levels.
“We have people from walkers who just want to get their A1c [blood sugar] level down to people who are training for Paralympic status,” Strong said.
The organization also offers opportunities for yoga, fitness classes and rock climbing. A monthly climbing session is held at Inner Peaks, and Strong said the group plans to begin meeting once a month at the new Braille Trail, a section of the Cross Charlotte trail near NoDa with art exhibitions for visually impaired people.
“Basically, we try to help in any way that we can to help each athlete achieve their goal, whatever their goal may be,” Strong said.
Participation is free for athletes. The organization is entirely volunteer-run and relies on donations to help cover expenses such as race registrations, climbing gym access and athletic gear. Athletes connect with the nonprofit and learn about meet-ups through social media, or they can reach out to Strong directly to be partnered with a volunteer.
“We just try to provide a healthy environment where everybody's welcome,” Strong said. “You can do things you normally wouldn't think you could do.”