Nicole Ver Kuilen

RESIDENCE: VANCOUVER, WASH.

After being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, Nicole had her leg amputated at age 10. She did not have access to the prosthetic care she needed, so she abandoned athletics until she rediscovered running in college. She learned how hard it was to get an athletic prosthetic covered by insurance and completed a 1,500-mile triathlon along the West Coast to raise awareness. She has since become an advocate, founding Forrest Stump and working with the Amputee Coalition to promote legislation for insurance companies to cover athletic prosthetics nationwide.

What does it mean to be part of the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon Team Inspire?

“Team Inspire gives me a platform to change the narrative around disability. As an amputee, I know firsthand that medical care exists to help people with disabilities run—but insurance can deny that care as ‘not medically necessary.’ I’m proud to represent So Every BODY Can Move and our new documentary film "Not Medically Necessary" in asking: who gets access to the medical care they need to move?”