Guide running ... to tether, or not to tether ...

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure to sit in on a workshop for coaches and leaders of England athletics clubs as well as affiliated clubs. the workshop was about guiding blind and visually impaired runners. Being severely  visually impaired myself, this is of course of interest to me, although the way I have been guided is quite different from the norm, which I will explain in here, although, if you have been at a few races already, you probably know how it looks when a blind runner is guided.

When it comes to guide running, the question really is this: To tether, or not to tether. By this I mean that the guide runner and the blind runner are connected by a rope or band made out of usually soft ,however not stretchy material. Tethering is the norm. However, due to a few reasons, which I will go in to later in this post, I have always hated being tethered. Yes, of course for anyone with no or little residual sight, being guided should be something they are used to, both when walking and running. However, in my case, it truly isn't.

So here are my reasons for not being tethered:

- it's what you are used to. What I mean by this is that as a child, unless we were in very crowded areas, my parents always let me walk next to them without physically holding on or being in any other way connected to them. Likewise, when going for walks, apart from when crossing a road, and certainly when following paths along fields in the countryside, I was always encouraged to walk alone. This is partly due to the fact that I do have enough site to see the outline of the path as well as obstacles, all be it sometimes it seems I only see them when I nearly bump into them ... but I usually see them unless they are not in my view, such as pot holes or branches on trees. So from my childhood, I was used to walking on my own, and yes, sometimes even without a cane. Again, it depends on the area. But certainly when walking quiet country roads and field paths I was always allowed, if not even encouraged, to leave my cane at home ... it simply made me feel more "normal".

- I'm German ... what can I say. Germans, at least this is what I heard since I have been living here in the UK, are known for their drive for personal independence and autonomy. therefore if I want to take my friend, who is completely blind, shopping in Cheltenham on my own, then I will. I know what is best for myself. I know when to ask for help but I also know when I can do things myself. Therefore when running, I like to be in controll. I like to be able to decide my pace. I like to be able to move my arms the way I want to, and if someone is too close to me I feel cramped ... I like my own space.

- Tethering makes me think of running on the track or in the forest when I was at school. As you may gather, this is not a positive thing. I hated running, and I certainly, even then, hated the fact I had to hang on to a tether. It therefore triggers negative memories.

However, last night's workshop taught me to have a more open mind, and I am now considering, all be it slowly, that my view may perhaps be selfish. Yes, I still don't like it much, but I am starting to think from a guide's perspective ... certainly guides who do it for the first time. Guides may be primarily concerned with my safety, and they may feel safer if I was in some way connected to them while running.

Last night, during the practise of the workshop, I was encouraged by my lovely coach Kerry to try to run with a tether. I myself don't like to appear stubborn in front of a bunch of strangers. Similarly Kerry had mentioned to me, while watching a video about guide running, that they were running a lot faster with a tether. I therefore decided to give it a go, also because I am possibly doing a blindfolded run for RLSB charity for the blind, which obviously will require me to hold on to a guide. The first guide said I would only need to loop one finger through it. He said that this was the way he and the chap he is normally guiding are doing it. Deciding to keep an open mind, we set off ... we were only running about 30 meters across a netball court, so comparing it to a real life running situation is quite tricky, however I formed an impression quite quickly, and you will be surprised to hear that it was not all negative. While I felt it was harder to keep to my own pace, perhaps due to the fact the chap was a lot taller than me, I noticed that the tether has a strong advantage. Sometimes, because my left eye can see more than my right eye, I drift to the left of the path. When this happened with the tether, I noticed it right away as the grip of the tether around my finger got tight ... I knew that I had to come back in closer to the guide so that the tether would be loose between us. this, in return, meant the guide did not have to give as many verbal instructions as if I had not had a tether.

When switching to a new guide, Kerry encouraged me to loop my whole hand through and stay in close arm contact. I immediately knew that this was not my thing at all. While Kerry argued that you could get into a quite nice rhythm with your arms, I felt like I was constantly bumping into the guide, which made me physically uncomfortable. However, as she was a lady, the stride was easier.

To form a real impression of the tether, I believe I have to run with someone for a little longer. However, I now have a more open mind about it. While close contact still makes me uncomfortable, a little bit of contact through a tether, i. e. looping one finger through, would give me just enough space and yet just enough reassurance. I would need a guide who is about the same hight and same stride as me, otherwise I would feel pulled along or as if I was pulling the guide. However, if a guide now feels more secure with a tether, I will now be able to consider it. I will still ask a guide to run next to me if I am in an area I know, or a quiet area where there is not too much traffic and not too many hazards.

Apart from the tethering issue, I believe I was able to give quite a bit of good input into the workshop. For example someone said that it was nice when the guide and the blind runner have a similar vocal volume and can talk relaxed, whereas I remarked that, when running by roads with a lot of traffic, a guide needs to be able to speak up.

I am very grateful for Kerry to give me the opportunity. The workshop yesterday was primarily for leaders and coaches, however I believe they are planning to make it available for runners in general very soon once they find more tutors to teach the workshop ... if anyone reading this is interested, I will certainly keep you posted.

I hope I could shed some light and bring some insight into guide running and how every blind person is different. It would be interesting to hear your views. Do feel free to be honest. If you think I'm stubborn not to run with a tether, feel free to say so ... because I know I am. I just love my independence, perhaps a little too much.

Another running blog

So many of my lovely twitterfriends have one ... a blog. I have just spent an enjoyable hour browsing through some of them and have really been inspired. So I decided to create my own blog.

Ah yes, there goes Ines, riding another crazy wave ... "hello? Do you remember me? I'm the blog you abandonned a year or so ago, and now you're starting a new one? You should know you're not a faithful blogger!"

True but, I've taken up running, and, I am giving it another try.

In comparison to most of you guys, I'm a rather slow runner ... I've only started in January. But of course I never ever go down the comparison route. No, of course not. :D

As most of you know, I had gastric bypass surgery in May last year, after a quite lengthy process. I had started losing weight prior to the operation. At my heaviest, and yes, I don't mind admitting it, I was 146 kilograms, which is nearly 23 stone. At the time of the peration I was 121 kilograms, think that's about 20 stone or a bit less. Bearing in mind I'm only 5 foot 2.
After losing about 9 stone on the whole, I started running in January wit a club. I had run on the treadmill before christmas, then decided to find a club once I was able to run 20 minutes non stop. This is where my running journey started. Since then I have done a 5 k race in 40:34 and a 10 K in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 32 seconds, beating even some of my club members who have been running longer than me.

What's next?

I still want to up my mileage but right now, until September, I have no races planned. I'm getitng married on the  12th of July which obviously really isn't long now. Then it's off to Teignmouth in hopefully sunny Devon, where I hope to run along the sea front a few times ... something that the unfit old me would have never dreamed of. Lying on the beach like a stranded whale, yes. But running along the beach? Not in my wildest dreams.

My next biggest goal is Oxford half marathon in October. While I have been running for me until now I have a deep passion in me to run to raise funds, and even more importantly, awareness, for a charity close to my heart. I don't know which one yet but I would love to run for a charity dealing with obesity. Having been a victim of the obesity epidemic myself, I am passionate about it. Failing finding such a charity, I will try to run for British Blind sports ... oh yes, I forgot to mention that I am registered blind. It just doesn't define me, because I choose not to be defined by my disabilities.

So there we go, hope this will do as far as an introductory post is concerned. Until I blog at you next time: Happy running!! :)