Being a guide runner can mean helping a friend as a recreational runner or supporting an elite-level athlete. The commitment if being a guide runner for an elite-level athlete is significant—the blind athlete might be training almost every day of the week, and even more problematic, the guide and the blind runner may not live in the same place!
Libby Clegg, a British blind sprinter picked for the Beijing Paralympics, lives in the Scottish Borders, has a guide runner who lives 300 miles away and a coach in another part of Scotland. Her situation is rather complex! Hence, some blind runners rig up their own treadmill at home so they are not always dependent on their guide to train.
Guide Runner Process
A blind runner may choose to use an elbow lead, a tether, or to run free, and may receive verbal instruction from the guide. Commonly, the blind runner is tethered to the guide runner, the tether tied loosely around the wrists, or else knotted and held between the fingers in each runner’s hand. The ‘rules’ are that the tether should be non-stretch material of a specific length, and that the guide runner, if racing, should never cross the finish line before the blind runner, and should also never be seen to drag or propel the blind runner along.
Guide Runner Facts
• A guide runner must be faster, or have potential to be faster than the blind athlete. For this reason, many top blind sportswomen have male guide runners, as they usually have greater ability to run fast enough for elite-level competition.
• A guide runner is usually a similar height to the blind runner, as it helps in being able to match the athlete’s stride pattern. Technique isn’t so important as the stride pattern and ability to keep pace.
• For long distance races, a relay of up to four guide runners is allowed, with changeovers every 10km. For middle- and long-distance track races, two guides are allowed with only one changeover, which must be on a straight section of track.
• Guide runners always wear a bright orange running vest to distinguish them from the competitors.
Finding or Becoming a Guide Runner
Finding suitable guide runners can be a challenge. Word-of-mouth, adverts in athletics newsletters didn’t yield any results when searching for a guide for Libby. Eventually, they attracted some ‘applicants’ through some television publicity, and one of them, who happened to be an ex-international runner himself, was selected. The most important thing is matching the guide runner’s ‘potential’ with the blind runner’s aspirations. If you want to run a 10km race, then you have a much greater pool of suitable guide runners to choose from, probably amongst friends and family.
If running isn’t your thing, there are opportunities for guides in other sports too, such as cycling (to be a pilot on the front of a tandem), downhill and cross-country skiing.
For More Information
International Blind Sports Association
