Meeting the challenge:
Visually impaired runners cross the finish line at the Cherry Creek Sneak.
As thousands of athletes basked in a runner’s high after Denver’s 34th Cherry Creek Sneak on Sunday, 17 visually impaired finishers took their post-race celebration to a nearby FedEx Office store.
Away from the crowds and the course, the group reflected on what it took to reach the finish line.
“I just had a really good time,” said Luanne Burke, a blind athlete who participated in the Cherry Creek Sneak for the sixth time this year.
Burke, 54, who’s been competing for eight years, runs with a guide tethered to her wrist. The guide helps her navigate the course, alerting her when she needs to turn or if the pavement becomes uneven.
Since she started running, she’s been chasing the feeling she experienced the first time she laced up her shoes.
“I was so excited,” Burke said. “I had nothing to lose. I just loved running.”
Thousands of miles later, Burke said she occasionally outpaces her guide. Many visually impaired runners have that issue in common, said Deb Conley, her coach and mentor.
“Visually impaired people are limited by their guides,” Conley said. “You’re only going to develop as much as your guide.”
Conley, a sighted running coach, said she felt called to help visually impaired runners from the moment she tethered her arm to an athlete eight years ago. Since then, she’s been working to even the playing field for the visually impaired.
“I felt I would bridge that gap,” she said. “I wanted to make sports accessible for everyone.”
She assembled a group called Lending Sight that connects sighted runners with visually impaired runners in Colorado. They train every week and compete in several races each year.
Conley said she wants to empower the athletes she works with to be independent. She noted that many avoid sports because they’re afraid to fall.
Just over a year ago, Paul Migliorelli, a blind 51-year-old, struggled to pedal a stationary bike for 10 minutes. On Saturday, he completed a 5K walk with the help of four guides, who helped him balance and maneuver through Denver’s streets.
“It was really good,” Migliorelli said. “You just do what you can. You get it done if you can get started.”