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.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard