My first 10K as a Guide Runner

The weather was beautiful, the course was scenic and our smiles were bright! 

I ran my first 10K as a guide runner this past Sunday with 猛龍隊 (The Fearless Dragon) running team at the Town Health 25th anniversary 10K charity run. This experience of training with visually impaired runners and local volunteers in Hong Kong has been heartwarming, and they've made me feel like part of their family.

Left to right: Me and my partner running our last K at Hong Kong Science Park (香港科學園) with a fellow Fearless Dragon runner cheering us on.

As a person who has always run alone, running with a visually impaired partner has been given a twist to the idea of running as a "team". I have to be alert about our surroundings and describe possible obstacles, uneven ground, or nearby spectacles or activities that my vision has allowed me to take for granted. While at the same time, I am part of a team, pulling my own weight in the race and encouraging my teammate as the race progresses.

I had only ran with my partner once at a practice before this race. We just never came to the same practices after that. But not a problem! We ran together, we walked together and took water breaks together. Left, right, left, right. Almost there! Last K! And we finished the 10K together. =)


This charity run was very well put together. Here are somethings I found different from the runs I've participated in before (in Canada... since I've only run in Canada):

• Water and electrolyte stations, sure that's nothing new. But they even had a SPONGE station!! I have never been to a run with a sponge station before! It's just as any runner would imagine, you get a sponge soaked with water!!! 
• Fans, water guns and misters! Many fellow volunteers were equipped with these gadgets along the route to help cool down runners. I've also never seen that before!
• Free towels! This was the 2nd thing you got after crossing the finish line. The water station was followed by a towel station where you could get a small face towel. Nothing fancy, but much appreciated!! (It's not uncommon to see people walking around in HK with small towels around their necks/stuffed partway down the back of their shirts.)
• Free icecream!! I got 2 small cups of ice cream. Sesame flavoured and then vanilla. 'Cause if I didn't help finish them, they'd just melt! XD
• No bananas, bagels or oranges.... Since we have icecream I guess.

I had a great time running with these folks the past few weeks and I look forward to a few more meetups with them before my departure. It was unfortunate that I couldn't stay for dimsum with them after the run 'cause I only took a half day off. The rest of my day was spent leading children's groups... Not a bad day to spend my Sunday. I like what I do. =)

Group shot with 猛龍隊 (The Fearless Dragon) and friends/supporters present at the June 8 charity run.

These runners inspire me to persevere and continue to strive for greater distances in life both as a runner and a person. I really agree with Kim Mok, Chairman of Hong Kong Network for the Promotion of Inclusive Society, when he says the following in this video: (I've translated his words to English)

"The finish line will not be moved closer for us because we have a disability. Likewise, the finish line shouldn't be any further because we have a disability."