Meet Ixchel
Ixchel Lemus-Bromley founded Free 2 Fly to build a community where blind and visually impaired people—whom the club lovingly refers to as VIPs—feel seen, supported, and free to move. As a legally blind runner, Ixchel knows how isolating vision loss can be and how transformative it is to feel truly empowered in your body, your identity, and your community.
Ixchel’s vision loss journey began as a toddler growing up in Costa Rica, where she’d knock over garbanzo bean cans in grocery stores. At age 6, she was told she had night blindness, but doctors dismissed it as something that would only matter “if she ever wanted to enlist.” Without a concrete diagnosis, Ixchel spent her childhood blaming herself for the challenges she faced—navigating the world without understanding why things felt so difficult.
In high school, theater was her passion, but dark backstage spaces were hard to navigate. She brushed it off, relying on that early night blindness explanation. At 16, she earned her driver’s license and finally felt a sense of independence—but after a few close calls driving at night, she knew something more was going on. Finally, at 18, she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a rare degenerative eye disease. That was the moment she learned she was going blind.
After graduating from Boston University in 2019, Ixchel moved to Seattle to start her professional career. Like many during the pandemic, she began running in 2020, encouraged by her mom. What started as a reluctant experiment quickly became a passion. Running gave Ixchel something she rarely experienced as a VIP: freedom and independence. She soon completed her first 10k, half marathon, and then the Chicago Marathon in 2022.
By 2023, her vision had deteriorated further. Everyday tasks—and running—became harder. She fell often. Her pace slowed. Anxiety crept in. She began mobility training to use a white cane, but emotionally struggled to present herself as disabled after a lifetime spent trying to “blend in.”
In 2024, she attended an adaptive sports camp in Houston, hosted by Team Catapult to learn how to run with a sighted guide. For the first time, she met other blind athletes—and it changed everything. Ixchel found pride, community, and a renewed sense of self. She realized that there was strength, not shame, in embracing her experience—and that others deserved to feel that too. In January 2025, Ixchel completed her first guided marathon in Houston and where she set her personal record in the marathon and decided that from that day forward, she'd never run alone again.
In March 2025, Free 2 Fly was born: a running community built by and for VIPs, designed to provide connection, guidance, safety, and empowerment.
Ixchel may have limited sight, but she has plenty of vision. She envisions a world where everyone feels comfortable showing up as their authentic self—and through Free 2 Fly, she’s working every day to make that vision a reality.