Runners with vision

Guided by volunteers, visually impaired athletes tackle marathon tasks to prove that it is not the winning but the taking part that counts both in a race and in life as they inspire with a determination to overcome the odds.

Running a marathon takes determination, courage, perseverance. It is an arduous undertaking that requires months of dedicated training. But for some of the runners on the Beijing marathon on Sept 16, they had to overcome challenges far greater than the majority of those they competed against. For 21 of the runners pounding the capital's roads were visually impaired and had to compete "tied" to another runner for guidance.

"I feel relieved after all of them completed the race safely, and the 87 volunteer guides who gave up their own participation to help our visually impaired runners did an incredible job," a volunteer guide and trainer Li Yubao said.

Li is a volunteer who has been guiding those runners for more than two years. Now he is the leader of a group of volunteers in a running group providing professional training for the visually impaired.

To prepare for the Beijing marathon, he arranged regular training for volunteers and participant runners for two months.

It is a great honor to run the Beijing marathon for normal runners, not to say those with visual impairment, Li said, adding that their competition results are better than predicted and two runners even finished the race within four hours.

Li, 39, is a system engineer who works in Intel in Beijing. When it comes to the weekend, he becomes the eyes and navigator for the visually impaired and runs with them in the Olympic Green every Saturday morning.

The He Yajun Running Group, named after the runner who initially set it up in 2015, now has more than 1,000 visually impaired runners and has over 600 people willing to help.

When jogging in the park one day in 2016, Li's attention was caught by a special group of runners who were tied to each other in pairs with a rope, with "visually impaired" and "guide" marked in the back of their running gear.

"I was curious and asked around about them", he said. Li finally joined the group and became a volunteer guide in August 2016.

Li has already guided all of the members in the group. The group has participated in more than 20 marathons, and some of the runners have even run in foreign events in Europe.

Visually impaired runners can be divided into partially or totally without sight.

According to Li, volunteer guides typically need to be in better physical condition than the disabled runners. "Guides must have the energy to take care of the runners", Li said.

"A guide is expected to keep visually impaired runners safe and informed at all times, help them with pacing and warn them about obstacles", Li said.

"A caring and responsible heart is what is needed to be a capable and reliable guide runner", he said.

Volunteers in their group are required to cover their eyes in training to experience sightless running.

"Running blindfolded and allowing others to guide you will enable you to feel what it's like running with little or no vision, and you will realize how much the runners trust you and you will be aware of your responsibilities", Li said.

"It is difficult for those with visual impairment to get here in the morning, they have to catch the first train or bus", he said, adding that it takes a lot of courage just to train.

Li noted that runners in their group are disciplined and organized. "They are never late for training", he said.

After Li joined the group, he required the runners and volunteers to train scientifically and healthily. "We are a running group, we have to stimulate our talent and challenge our limits", Li said.

"What impressed me most is that although they are physically vulnerable, they are mentally strong", he said.

"The first visually impaired runner I guided impressed me a lot with his perseverance", Li said, adding that they ran together in heavy rain, and with his professional guidance and encouragement the runner completed his first 10-km event.

Volunteers and runners get along well in their group. They are not just running partners, they are also friends.