Denver Athlete Aims to Be First Female Wheelchair Racer to Complete Great World Race

Julia Beckley, a Colorado native and longtime member of Achilles Denver, is aiming to complete her greatest challenge yet, the 2025 Great World Race next November. 

The Great World Race consists of completing seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. If successfully completed, Julia will become the first female wheelchair athlete to accomplish this major feat. 

While studying as a college student, Julia was diagnosed with hypophosphatasia, a rare genetic bone disorder that makes her bones prone to breaks and fractures. This led the lifelong athlete needing to take a break from some of the activities she loved, including sports.

Once she decided she wanted to get back to competing in 2019, she realized she would have to approach things differently due to her disability. That is when she realized how limited resources were for athletes like her. “It was really hard to find any information about wheelchair racing in Colorado,” Julia says. “I’m really glad that I was able to work with Achilles and other local organizations to help raise awareness about adaptive sports in Colorado. You couldn’t pay me enough to want to do anything other than help people get into racing chairs!”

Read a Q&A with Julia below.

What inspired you to take on the Great World Race?

“When my friends and I started talking about it, it was more like a joke at first. After I was able to speak to the race director, he offered me an incredible opportunity to participate. That’s when I started to really think about it more seriously and wondered if it was something I could really do. It was really the support of my crew and my teammates and even my local community that led me to really believe that this was something I could accomplish.” 

How has Achilles helped you get to a point where you feel like you can take on a huge challenge like this?

“I am really lucky to be a part of the Achilles Denver chapter. Everyone has been so encouraging from the beginning. Even when I insisted on traveling all over the place to participate in different races and challenges, everyone at Achilles was so encouraging and always helped me reach my goals. Having a support system that just allows me to be me and is willing to do whatever it takes to help me succeed is really motivating. I feel like with the amount of support I have and the amount of people that are cheering me on, there’s really nothing I can’t do!” 

What would it mean to you to become the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Great World Race? 

“I’ve learned a lot as an adaptive athlete, but the most important lesson I’ve learned is that showing up matters. I've gotten to do so many things in the adaptive sports community and I truly believe that sports saved my life. I want others to be able to benefit from programs like Achilles the same way that I have, and for them to know that they are not defined or limited by their disability. To be the first female wheelchair athlete to complete this challenge would not only be huge for me personally, but for my entire community. It really is a  dream come true to get to travel and push my limits in this capacity, and to do so knowing that there are other people looking to do the same thing as me makes it all the more special. It's indescribable how much it means to me. I would just be so honored to be seen as a light in the chronic illness community.”

Do you have any advice for other athletes living with disabilities? 

“My biggest piece of advice would be to try. Just try. Find a way to try! It might be daunting at first, but there are so many wonderful things out there that you’ll miss out on if you let the fear take over. When you experience a life changing injury or illness, there is a grieving period you have to get through. You lose a lot, but that’s why it’s so important to celebrate what you can and find new joy and inspiration wherever you can. Have patience with yourself as you push your limits and learn new things. Also, I will always encourage folks to join a community. The support that comes from a group of people that you care about will carry you further than you can ever imagine.”