A Guide for the Guides
April 30, 2007
By Jim Vargo
Head Track Coach
U.S. Association of Blind Athletes
Guide running for the blind is an exhilarating experience. Often runners are hesitant to serve as guide runners fearing they will do something or not do something that could result in injury or a poor performance for the blind athlete. In actuality, running with a blind runner is nearly the same as running with your regular sighted training partners.
(Read our Vision 5K tips for guides.)
The guide runner and blind athlete run in unison with a foot long tether held firmly in the fingers or tied around the wrists of the guide and athlete. Tethers can be as simple as a shoe string or made of other materials such as leather.
The purpose of the tether is to allow freedom of movement for both the blind athlete and the guide, but keep them in close proximity of each other. As they run, the guide becomes a play-by-player announcer of sorts.
It is the guide’s responsibility to provide verbal cues to the athlete on matters such as upcoming hills, turns, curbs, uneven footing, where other competitors are in the race, times, and so forth.
At events such as the Texas Roadhouse Stampede for VIPS it is common that the blind athlete and guide will be running together for the first time. Experienced blind athletes will know what type of tether and methods of communication works best for them and they will convey this to the guide.
Usually an easy warm-up run before the race will allow the guide and athlete to become one team so both are comfortable with each other when the gun goes off to start the race. If one is a veteran guide runner, they will have the experiences necessary to easily guide experienced or novice blind athletes.
The trickiest tandem is when the guide has little or no guide running experience and the blind athlete is a novice. In this case, it is important to have an experienced guide or blind athlete on hand to give a quick clinic on effective guide running and answer questions that either the guide or athlete may have.
Lastly, it is important that the guide runner be a faster runner than the blind athlete. This will allow the guide to focus on the needs of the blind athlete and not be concerned with their ability to keep up the pace. Also, a faster guide will be more relaxed with their running and the athlete will feel this through the tether each is holding, reassuring the athlete that the guide will be able to stay up.
In the case of an exceptionally gifted blind runner, such as Henry Wanyoike, who has run a 5K in 15 minutes and 17 seconds—or averaging 4 minutes and 55 seconds per mile for 3.1 miles—it may be difficult to find a guide who can stay up with him!
One solution is for Henry to bring his own guide with him, one that he knows can run at his pace. Often, this may not be possible, so it is important to locate a runner in the community who can run Henry’s pace. However, this can be tough as there may be few, if any runners, in the local community who can run the entire race at such a fast rate.
If one runner can not be found, the last option is to locate two or three runners who can run a mile or two at Henry’s pace and then have them switch at a pre-determined location along the race course.
Guide running is one of the ultimate forms of volunteerism as the guide is giving of both their time and talent. The personal satisfaction of knowing you have helped another individual meet a goal that they could not have otherwise attained is a reward that money can not buy!
