Like many athletes, Simon likes chasing that runners high and sense of accomplishment. He leaves each day, kissing his two little boys goodbye, and heads out to the open road near his home. Each mile is shared in solitude with passing traffic as he trains for his next event. Simon isn’t just a runner but a marathon and ultramarathon runner.
He still remembers the day he planned to take his girlfriend up a mountain and propose. However, they got lost and the climb was too much for him to handle. He and his future wife had to turn back. From that day forward, he vowed to never give up again. Hence, he took on the challenge of running.
At first, he took to the football field at the local school and ran between the goal posts using Runkeeper to give feedback on distance and pace. He managed to work up to running a mile. Then he moved on to the path near his home in Doncaster, a village in north-central England. Once he mastered longer distances, boredom took him to the open road and he has never looked back. Now, any jogger knows that running on the open road can be a dangerous proposition, but for Simon, it’s especially so. Simon Wheatcroft is completely blind.
He was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa when he was 11. For a while, he could still see shapes and recognize some faces, but by age 27 it was all gone. Simon has learned to use the feeling of the lines beneath his feet to keep himself on track. “The obvious problem was road signs and lampposts. You have to learn where they are by running into them,” Simon says. His landmarks are minute changes in gradient, slight ridges where the road joins the curb or bushes that push into the path. Familiarity and consistency are essential for a blind solo runner.
Being thankful for what you have and being willing to accept your situation isn’t always the easiest proposition for some. Simon teaches us the importance of doing these two things if you want to move forward and make a difference. He also shows us that failure is inevitable in order to make great gains. I mean, running into a lamppost can be a failure that you wouldn’t want to do twice. Simon is currently getting his Computer Science degree and working on technology that will enhance blind independence.
I am thankful for the committed folks that I have the privilege to work with across our district. I get to watch deeply caring individuals working out how to make the greatest impact with the students they work with. We have the opportunity to make a transformation in a whole bunch of Simon’s throughout our schools each day. Maybe it isn’t blindness that they see as their barrier. Whatever it is, I know that we are looking for solutions for students to overcome and gain a sense of challenge just like Simon. Simon did move forward and develop an eagerness to make a difference for others. That is what we want for our students. I am eager to see what our future computer scientists, musicians, authors, police officers, judges, construction workers, or any number of future workers that we are developing will do with the eagerness to learn that we help to instil in them.
Simon Wheatcroft at WIRED2014: https://youtu.be/kIJGt8sCRfI
Google Explorer Video: https://youtu.be/EqzQFv22EX0
Runkeeper Ad: https://youtu.be/IFnqBtLNoPY
Have a fantastic three day weekend,
Rob