Relentless Romero Blogs

It was January 1st of 2015. I had planned a Resolution Run of 45 miles to celebrate the start of the year I would turn 45 years old.  It was a great adventure that started very chilly (below freezing), then turned into a snowy blizzard (white out conditions), then turned a little dangerous (I got lost and had to run against traffic in poor visibility conditions). The run was temporarily interrupted when a police officer made me get into his car to stop me from running against traffic in the road.  I told him I was running 45 miles that day, and had 15 more to go. I asked him if he could drop me off on a mainstreet that had a sidewalk, and was at least 15 miles long. He looked at me like I was crazy. He asked me why I was wearing a "BLIND" sign. I explained that I was legally blind, and that I am a runner and speaker. He shared that his Father had lost his eyesight, and the struggles he had with the process of going blind. Ultimately, the officer dropped me off at a bike...

So my first piece of advice would be, “get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air…..you will definitely feel better than running indoors.”   That being said, the fact is that weather can interfere with outdoor running and make it very uncomfortable, if the runner does not have the proper apparel.   Also, it can be difficult for a visually impaired runner to be outdoors….for the VI runner who requires a guide to run outdoors, there can be conflicts with the guides schedule.   Guides cannot just drop what they are doing and support a VI runner’s guiding needs when the VI runner wants to run….this can be a barrier for outdoor running.   Finally, there are hazards out there for the VI runner.   Imagine going outside, closing your eyes and running.   Hazards become pretty apparent – curbs, street sighs, fire hydrants, dog leashes, benches, snow piles, etc.   Pretty much anything can be a hazard, and depending on how much sight the VI runner has the degree ...