Yesterday, Thomas Panek, the president and CEO of the nonprofit school Guiding Eyes for the Blind, became the first blind person to complete the New York City Half Marathon. Three Labrador Retriever guide dogs named Westley, Waffle, and Gus took turns leading him to the finish line in two hours and 21 minutes. Although Panek started to lose his eyesight in his early 20s, he didn't want to stop running. He ran with volunteer human guides until 2015, which is when he developed the Running Guides program to train running guide dogs. Panek hopes his latest accomplishment will inspire other people with disabilities to achieve their goals. For more details on this story, go to
https://people.com/sports/blind-man-finishes-nyc-half-marathon-with-three-guide-dogs/.
On a side note, today's Google Doodle honors Seiichi Miyake, who created the tactile paving slab (known as the tenji block in Japan) 52 years ago for blind people who walk around cities while tapping the ground with a cane. To learn more, go to
https://www.cnet.com/news/google-doodle-pays-tribute-to-japanese-inventor-seiichi-miyake/.
Thomas Panek during the NYC Half Marathon
(image via goodmorningamerica.com)
So interesting and informative!
ReplyDeleteThank you, J.P.
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