‘People in wheelchairs can be active.’ Local man inspires others in Spartan Races

IDAHO FALLS — A local 27-year-old will be participating in a Spartan Race this weekend. It’s not an easy feat — especially in a wheelchair.

Trandon Mechling of Idaho Falls will be in the race on Saturday, Aug. 9, for the 2025 Boise Spartan Trifecta. A team of six to eight people typically helps him get through the course. Trandon’s mother and father will be part of it too. 

“He has cerebral palsy, so he is in a wheelchair and then he has a special wheelchair (for the races). He requires the support team that helps him get through the course,” said Angie Mechling, Trandon’s mother. “He is doing the sprint, usually three to three and a half miles long.”

A Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races that test participants’ physical and mental strength across challenging terrains.

“When you are in a wheelchair, it takes more on my body to physically go through a course. My body is taking a beating,” Trandon said. 

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This race has dirt, mud and monkey bars. 

“You just work together as a team. We’ll put him on somebody’s shoulders, and people help support him, and then he focuses on trying to do the monkey bars,” Angie said. 

Trandon doesn’t use the average wheelchair, however. He uses what’s called a Grit Freedom Chair. It has the ability to handle diverse terrains. According to its website, “the chair’s design includes rugged, high-traction tires that provide excellent grip on various surfaces, including dirt paths, gravel roads, sandy beaches and snowy landscapes.”

“The first Spartan Race he did, he did with wounded veterans, and they brought the Grit Freedom Chair. We got home from that race and we were just like, ‘OK, we are going to buy him this chair,’” Angie said. 

He met the veterans in 2017 at a Spartan Race in California and then did a Spartan Race with them in 2018 in Las Vegas. He’s been doing them ever since.

“I met this one veteran in California, and he asked me if I wanted to do a race, and I was super depressed, and I could barely even talk (at the time), and I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess I can do that,’” Trandon said. “But doing Spartan now has kind of helped pull me out of that depression, and I know people from all over the globe from doing the races.”

Trandon has done both para Spartan Races and regular Spartan races. 

He has come a long way, and Angie said she is proud of her son. He constantly trains, getting stronger and stronger. He works out at Maltese CrossFit in Idaho Falls and has been training with the owner, Sam Harmer. 

“It’s really cool. When we got him into doing Spartan Races, it’s helped his mental health — like, getting him active in the gym and working with the trainer three times a week has helped tremendously,” Angie said. “Most people in a wheelchair are stuck all day long in the same position. We’ve seen him just bloom and blossom.” 

Trandon is looking forward to the race this weekend in Boise and added that it brings awareness to others too. Anyone can do it. 

“I’ve had people come up to me who have been literally crying because they say how cool it is that I am out on the Spartan course,” Trandon said. “It’s bringing awareness that people in wheelchairs can be active.”