I am a legally blind person who runs marathons and ultra marathons. Although the term blind runner is an accurate way to describe me I do not like this term because of what it implies. The order of these words makes the disability precede the running. This implies that my visual impairment defines and perhaps even limits  my ability to run. My vision may be impaired, but my running is not.

I have shown that I am able to complete races between 3 and 50 miles long. I am able to do so in temperatures ranging from the low 80s to the low 30s. I have run races in torrential rainstorms and incredibly bright sunlight. I ran fast enough to place between 1st and 3rd in my age group in races ranging from the 5k to the 50 mile ultra-marathon. Although my Visual impairment does make some parts of running more challenging it does not limit my ability to run. Do I need to be concerned about following  the right course? Do I need to be concerned about  tripping over cracks in the pavement or other obstacles? Yes, but these are things I need to be concerned about when I am walking. These are things that all people who are blind or visually impaired deal with on a regular basis.

Becoming fit enough to run marathons is very demanding. This is so demanding that less than 1% of the population in the world can do so. I prefer to put a precedence on my ability to run these long distance races.  Becoming fit enough to run a marathon is a greater challenge than learning to navigate the course with a visual impairment.