A blind man with a passion for running will compete in November’s New York Marathon.
Blair McConnell was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease that causes cells in the retina to break down slowly over time, resulting in progressive vision loss.
But the 58-year-old, of Prebbleton, isn't letting that slow him down.
He will travel to the Big Apple for the world’s largest marathon as one of seven athletes with Achilles International New Zealand.
Achilles aims to provide people with disabilities the opportunity to participate in mainstream athletics, and matches them with volunteer guides.
McConnell started running about four years ago after being an "armchair sportsperson" for most of his life.
"I found a very patient guide (Mat Austin from Christchurch), who came to my place week after week and took me out running. In the early days, it was run a bit, walk a bit, run a bit, walk a lot, until we finally got up to a 5km run."
Guides run alongside their vision-impaired joggers, who they lead with the help of a tether.
Within three months of taking up his new sport, McConnell entered the Round the Bays half marathon in Wellington, and completed it. He went on to compete in several more half marathons.
The New York Marathon is on November 5. At 42km, it will be McConnell’s first-ever full marathon.
McConnell said his main guide, Noel Whiteside from Christchurch, was unable to make the trip, allowing fellow guide, Anton McLean from Christchurch, to step in.
"I’m looking forward to achieving a full marathon and seeing parts of New York that you could only see if you were running it. But more importantly, the opportunity to let others know that they can do what they want to, they are only limited by their self-beliefs," he said.
McConnell said while he could not see the world around him while running, he could see images of that world as his guide would describe things as they ran.
These images were vivid, as he could remember what the world looked like from before he lost his sight.
"My eyes don’t work, but I still see," McConnell said.
It was not until his early 20s he needed a white cane or guide dog to get around. Today, he still has some light perception, in that he can tell daytime from night.
He is looking forward to being in New York.
"Central Park will be unreal, just because it is so iconic. Passing the Madison Avenue Bridge, passing the Empire State Building, I’m sure somebody is going to tell me when we do that," McConnell said.
"Part of it is also the crowd, the New York Marathon is I believe the biggest marathon in the world, normally they have two million spectators, the number of people just on the sideline supporting you, it’s hard to imagine actually."
McConnell is a dad of three teenagers and works for MYOB in Christchurch selling business software. He has a guide dog named Oakley.
While Oakley accompanies McConnell as he heads into the office, the 10-year-old black labrador stays home when his master goes running.
"If I’m late for his dinner, he stands at the door in anticipation, waiting for me to get home."
