Runners who are blind plan to run Ragnar with guides

Runners who are blind plan to run Ragnar with guides

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SALT LAKE CITY — Among the runners at this weekend’s Wasatch Back Ragnar will be a team that includes athletes who are blind.

The Utah Achilles team includes 13 athletes who have physical challenges, most of whom are visually impaired. Joining the runners will be guides who will assist them through the race, according to Ken Duke, president of the Achilles Utah Chapter.

For nearly a year, 12 of the Achilles athletes and 12 guides have participated in weekly workout sessions. Duke, a runner who is blind, became hooked on marathon running in 1991 and has since run 56 marathons, he said.

“Most of … the Ragnar team for the Achilles athletes haven’t run much at all,” Duke said. “They just started a year ago. They've really progressed and they’re really doing a great job. So a lot of them, this will be their first official organized race."

Running has been beneficial for members of the team.

“We have seen people who have had depression and it’s helped alleviate some of the depression,” Duke said. “We’ve had other athletes that have lost weight, in fact one of them has lost 30 pounds. We have others who have overcome maybe the fear of running because of trying to run alone and with having guides with them they’ve overcome some of that fear.”

Another runner, Mark Turley, has retinitis pigmentosa, so he gradually went blind. After having to quit playing sports and being sort of forced into retirement, he felt lost, he said.

“Eventually I got involved with the National Federation of The Blind, and that kind of got me going again as far as realizing that there’s still things I can do that I didn’t even know I could do,” Turley said.

Duke, who was also involved with the NFB, encouraged Turley to try running, but Turley had never liked running, he said.

(Photo: Courtesy of Ken Duke)
(Photo: Courtesy of Ken Duke)

“Running is the punishment that you have to do when your (sic) play other sports, you know,” Turley said. “And I’m like ‘I don’t want to run.' But I just could tell I was getting into terrible shape, and so finally he convinced me to try running.” He said he ended up having a blast running at a charity race last year, and he is now preparing to run Ragnar.

Turley’s blindness is not the only big challenge in his life. Recently, his wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

He said running has been a sort of outlet for these challenges in his life.

“I remember the first five days in the hospital, I didn’t do any exercise, I didn’t have much appetite, and it was rough,” Turley said. “But eventually, I went back to running with the group, and I think just being with the group was a big help, but running itself was just a way of I think maybe a stress reliever and anxiety reliever and I wouldn’t call it an escape — I would just call it more of a therapy almost.”

The race will take place Friday and Saturday. It begins in Logan and finishes in Midway.

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