Running Blind

11-12-2006

Regular Stirrer readers will know about theheroic fund-raisingefforts of West Brom marathon runner Blind Dave Heeley. One of his sighted mates, Garry Wells, thought he'd try and see what it was like runningthree long-distance events with a blindfold. Here's his story...


Driving home from the Great North Run on the 1st October was a drive I will not forget for a long time to come. Emotions where high as I had just completed the first of three blindfolded runs and a personal best at that!

After driving for an hour, my eyes where aching non stop from the pressure of the blindfold during the half marathon, my legs did not feel like my own and the feeling of sickness kept me company for the whole trip home.

It only got worseonce I realised that this was only the first of three blindfolded runs I was due to make, but hey, I will make a full recovery, unlike the blind!

Liverpool was the next stop where Dave Heeley's guide runner Mad Mac was guiding both myself and Blind Dave around the 10K course.. It wasn't a race he was looking forward to.

After a brief interview with the local radio station at the start it was time to embark on race number two butthis timewith a difference as we started at the very back of the pack. This was new to us all as none of us had ever started last before and as I donned the blindfold for a second
time, the look of despair on Mac's face was one to remember!

Soon we were amongst the pack and trying to get three abreast through more than3500 people is not an easy task, even with sight.

"Blind runners coming through" Mac would shout as I clipped the heels of fellow runners. People parted in amazement as they saw us pass and I have to say, everyone gave us huge encouragement which made us feel at ease.

That didn't last long, though,as the pack tightened towards a bottleneck. "Stay close to me" said Mac, "Dave you go first". My heart missed a beat when I heard Mac ask Dave to go first, that really was the Blind
leading the Blind but with a few training runs around his home town of West Brom, I have learned to trust his judgement.

The rest of the race was much the same and we even managed a good pace towards the end as the pack thinned. Mac did a tremendous job, guiding us from very last to over half
way up the pack and to a finishing time of just over 52 minutes.

This race was all about raising awareness for Guide Dogs and with coverage from
local radio and newspapers, this was definitely mission accomplished.

The next stop was The Great South, held in Portsmouth, which is a ten mile
race on the flat. This time Krazy Karl was my guide. We managed to get to the very front of the first wave and as we watched Mac and Blind Dave leave before us I
was donning the blindfold for the last time.

It was starting to rain as we started but it had not dampened my spirits as we got off to a flying start with the first mile done in little over 7 minutes.

Karl was keeping an eye on times and we agreed we needed to slow down. It was now raining hard and as mile two passed, once again it took just over 7 minutes.

I could hear the chants from the crowds, who where out in force despite the weather.
Kids would shout "look there's Superman" as we passed. The road surface would change from cobbles to tarmac, the rain was pouring down and we had 8 miles to go.

There was more space around us this time than at the previous runs, a thing I am sure you sense easier when you have no sight.
This made for better running and as we approached mile 5 I was feeling
very Olympic especially as I heard Mac and Dave shout encouragement as they passed on the return leg of the course.

It was then Karl said "oh no, my lace has come undone, keep going it will be alright". I urged Karl to stop as he was now dragging his foot to keep his shoe on and reminded him that if he falls, I fall too!

This put me off my pace a little but with
cheering out of our names from the crowd, we were soon back up to speed. As we ran close to the finish, I could hear the excitement of the closing stages of the Elite runners but we had over 3 to do yet before we doubled back.

As we turned to run back down the sea front at around mile 8, the wind took our breath away but with encouraging words from Karl I focused on running the last 2 miles. With a mile to go, Karl was pushing me to run
faster but the flying start was taking its toll and I promised myself to keep the same pace and not flake out at the finish line.

The first I knew of the finish was Karl shouting "ok, ok, ok, stop, you have finished", he had made up his mind not to tell me when I had crossed the line in order for me to keep the pace up. It worked as we crossed the line in 1 hour and 19 minutes, another personal best!!

Having completed three races, blindfolded, there was something a little different about the last one, some kind of weird feeling which I could not put to rest, something that stands out from the other two.......

Then, I realised the difference! Unlike the other two, I had just ran a race but I
have no idea where! Yes, in Portsmouth, but that's it. Yes I knew that I would not see the sights along the way, the celebrities competing or the crowds lining the roads but it's a very strange feeling, almost a dizzy
one, knowing you have just ran a race but don't know where.

You see, the Great North and Liverpool, I know well but Portsmouth is a place I have
never been before so this is kind of unique to me.

Then I get to thinking about Blind Dave and realise that all his races are like this and that the man himself deserves more credit than most for running without sight. The whole idea for me with these three races was to put myself in Dave's shoes and to try and understand what running blind feels like.

Every runner in every race can soak up the atmosphere, the excitement, feel the
adrenalin, see the crowds cheering you along but without sight all these are left to a blind man's imagination.

Dave loves to run and as long as he can run, he will carry on inspiring people like me and raising thousands of pounds year after year for his beloved charity, Guide Dogs.

But let me tell you a little secret about
my good friend, Dave would hang up his running shoes without any hesitation just to be able to see again even if it was just for one last race!

Dave, you are definitely a Superhero, I would like to thank you for all your help and support during this challenge and wish you all the best for forthcoming events.

If you're inspired to help Blind Dave just log on to www.justgiving.com/blinddave

AND DON'T FORGET, THE STIRRER'S EXCLUSIVE FILM ABOUT DAVE HEELEY WILL BE BROADCAST HEREON THIS WEBSITEOVER CHRISTMAS.