Tips for Blind Runners

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Running is a very popular sport for many blind and partially-sighted people. Many marathons even have prize categories for people with serious sight problems.

If you would like to run a marathon or half marathon, we have some great tips to get you started. Not all runners with serious sight problems need to run with a sighted guide. However, if you do need to run with a sighted guide we have some good advice about how to finding, and also training with, a sighted guide.

How to find a sighted running guide

Approach local running clubs for volunteers. Running clubs may also be able to give you tips on training and nutrition. Do not forget to choose someone of similar fitness and ability if possible.

When you have found your guide

• Run regularly with your partner before the event to get used to running with them.
• Join a local gym, and use the treadmill or running machine to build up your mileage when you not able to use a guide.
• Try different methods of guiding to find the one that works best for you both.

Some different guiding methods

• Hold the elbow or your sighted guide, who runs slightly in front.
• Hold a strap attached to elbow or hand of your sighted guide.
• Run behind your guide with a tape around their waist or chest. This is excellent for crowded street marathons or off-road running on broken ground because the guide only needs to find a single-width path for you both.

Credits:

Run The Planet thanks the Royal National Institute of the Blind website (rnib.org.uk) for the permission to reprint part of the article "Tips for Blind and Partially Sighted Runners". The Royal National Institute of the Blind is the leading charity in the United Kingdom, offering information, support and advice to over two million people with sight problems, not just with braille, talking books and computer training, but with imaginative and practical solutions to everyday challenges. Illustration © by Run The Planet. A special thanks to Jeffrey Kafer for making this article accessible by converting it into an audio file.