Miles for a Mission: Team Living Proof Takes on the Tour Divide
This June, Team Living Proof – lead by former Green Beret Zack Garner — are taking on one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges—the Tour Divide—a 2,700 mile, self-supported mountain bike race from Banff, Canada, to the U.S.-Mexico border. This isn’t just about the ride—it’s about honoring the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community while raising awareness and funds for Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation’s life-changing programs.
After a career-ending traumatic brain injury, multiple life-threatening setbacks, and over 40 surgeries, Zack knows what it means to fight back. With the support of TFDSOF, he found purpose, strength, and a path forward. Now, he’s hitting the trail to make sure no SOF warrior fights alone.
“I believe that if we don’t share how we overcame our ‘lowest lows,’ we risk letting others fail. This ride is my way of giving hope and showing that the best adventures can still come after major setbacks.” — Zack Garner
We’ll be sharing updates from the trail, stories from the ride, and ways you can show your support. Stay tuned and help Team Living Proof go the distance—mile by mile, in honor of the SOF community.
Join the Mission Today!
Make a donation to support Team Living Proof: https://giving.classy.org/campaign/601310/donate
For sponsorship opportunities, contact Jillian Andrews at jillian.andrews@taskforcedagger.org.
Check out Zack’s full story & reason for riding below!
I’m Zack Garner, a former 7th Special Forces Group Green Beret. After 10 years in the Army, my career abruptly ended due to a traumatic brain injury that led to epilepsy. When I left the military, I had no clear plan—but I knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to settle for the pharmaceutical cocktail the VA was prescribing me. I knew there had to be natural ways to get my seizures under control allowing me to get off of all the other meds that were prescribed to treat the side effects of that one medication.
Cycling and fitness have always been my therapy. In 2015, I set out on a mission—to ride from Washington State to Florida, passing through every active-duty Special Forces base raising funds and awareness for TFD along the way, who was doing a lot of research on non-pharmaceutical therapies. I successfully completed the ride, and in the process, I found a new purpose in coaching endurance athletes.
In 2016, while racing an Ironman, I was hit by a car—suffering a broken back, a fractured skull, and compartment syndrome in my right hip and leg. Refusing to accept defeat, I rehabbed and deployed five more times as a contractor in Iraq and Syria.
Then, in 2020, I faced a severe infection turned into necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating bacteria), spreading through my bloodstream, into my bones, and eventually my heart—literally eating me from the inside out. I spent 10 months in the hospital, endured over 40 surgeries, suffered two strokes, and died twice.
But this isn’t a story for sympathy—it’s quite the opposite.
I’m now training to become a firefighter, and I dedicate my free time to sharing my story, because I believe that if we don’t share how we overcame our ‘lowest lows,’ we risk letting others fail.
For the 10-year anniversary of my original ride across the U.S., I’m taking on my biggest challenge yet—mountain biking the entire Continental Divide. I wouldn’t be here without TFDSOF, I’m once again raising funds and awareness for their programs ensuring that more warriors and their families receive the life-saving support I did.
This ride is my way of proving that setbacks don’t define us—we do. I’m a big believer in practicing what you preach, so this is my way of giving hope and showing that the best adventures can still come after major setbacks.