Running might not seem an ideal sport for people with visual impairments, but Republic of China Association for Visually Impaired Runners director Lin Yao-yi (林瑤義) said that is a misconception, as blind or partially blind people can enjoy running paired with a guide.
Visually impaired people have taken up the challenge of running, with guides acting as their eyes as they conquer middle and long-distance races.
Customer service adviser Chen Hui-chin (陳惠琴), who was born with congenital blindness, said she took up running two years ago because she was alarmed by the damage her lifestyle — sitting all day in an office without keeping a balanced diet — had done to her health.
Photo: CNA
She was out of breath from running a mere 200m on her first run, but her stamina and mental strength have increased by leaps and bounds over two years of training, she said, adding that she recently finished a half marathon in 2 hours, 33 minutes.
Chen attributed her success to her guide and a veteran marathoner Tsao Hui-ping (曹惠萍), saying Tsao is a harsh trainer because she always asks Chen to make up for the training she has missed.
Chen said Tsao does not like her taking a rest during training, because “you cannot run any more once you stop.”
Tsao was a competitive marathon athlete and helps guide visually impaired runners with her expertise.
She said she does not give special treatment to her trainees, even if they are blind.
Tsao said that she had not had many dealings previously with blind people, but has come to understand their courage and persistence after she volunteered to train them, adding that she was deeply touched to see Chen achieve a good result.
Many sighted people could not match the impressive perseverance people with visual impairment possess, Tsao said.
Masseur and former soldier Wang Chieh (王傑), who lost his eyesight in a car accident three decades ago, said there is no lack of long-distance runners among visually impaired athletes.
A familiar face in road running events, Wang said he trains twice a week, and the post-workout feeling is what motivates him to persist.
He said he enjoys the cheers people give him and especially likes the excitement of overtaking other runners.
Wang said he was at the lowest point in his life after the accident, which haunted him for a long time, adding: “There were three people in the car, but I was the only one injured. I resented [my fate] and became irritable.”
He could not break out of the slump and was quick to take offense during the days shortly after he was injured, he said.
He learned to come to terms with his situation with the help of Institute for the Blind of Taiwan and an occupational rehabilitation program that helped him enter the massage business, he said.
Although he became self-sufficient with his new job, he struggled to regain peace of mind and had a hard time banishing distracting thoughts if he could not fall asleep, he said.
Working out is his stress relief, but it took him quite a while to find a guide to resume his running habit that he cultivated during army life, he said.
He eases up and his shoulders relax as soon as he is on a running track, he said, adding that: “All the distracting thoughts disappear as soon as I hold on to the running tether [that is attached to a guide].”
He runs at least 10km per training session and there are few guides who can keep up with his pace, so sometimes it takes several volunteers to guide him in turns, he said.
He gives total trust to guide runners and uses movements of the tether to detect changes in direction, Wang said, adding that he deeply treasures the efforts and company of the guides.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai