Yahoo News Blind runner makes history after completing half marathon with guide dogs
A blind runner has made history by successfully completing the United New York City half marathon without human help.
Thomas Panek finished the race assisted by a relay team of three guide dogs, Waffles, Wesley and Gus.
According to the New York Runners website, Panek completed the 13.1 mile race in just over 2 hours and 20 minutes, with each of the Labrador retrievers taking turns to run 3-5 miles each.
The 48 year old life-long runner is president and CEO of Guiding Eyes For The Blind, a charity that trains dogs for the blind.
Panek set up the Running Guides program in 2015 with the aim of helping visually impaired runners ‘enhance independence, autonomy and physical fitness’ with having to rely on human assistance.
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Amazing accomplishment!! Thomas Panek is visually impaired. Today, he ran the @nyrr half marathon with the help of three guide dogs trained by @GuidingEyes pic.twitter.com/I3YSA2l7EP
— Lydia S. Hu (@LydiaHuNews) March 17, 2019
After losing his sight in his 20s, Panek adjusted to being blind and continued to run with human guides but didn’t feel the experience was the same.
“When I lost my sight I was too scared to run,” he previously told CBS News.
“Although many people run with running clubs, at the end of the day you’re running your own race,” he added. “And when you’re tied to another person, it’s no longer your race. The independence isn’t there.”
According to the Guiding Eyes website, funds raised through sponsorship and donations for the race will go towards the training and lifetime care of the dogs in the Running Guides program.
