Running event – with a twist, AsiaOne Singapore News

Mr Goh Giin Huat (left), 40, with running guide Kelvin Lin Yong Wen, 30, during their weekly training session. Mr Goh will be one of five visually handicapped pacers in the Runninghour race.

 

Billed as an event to promote the integration and inclusion of people with disabilities, Runninghour 2015 features 5km and 10km runs, and participants have the option of running blindfolded.

 

The event on March 22 at Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade has so far attracted 1,400 participants, who will be running alongside roughly 250 persons with disabilities.

 

Mr Goh, a guitar instructor, started running only in 2012 when he and his visually handicapped friends were asked to join Runninghour, an informal support group started in 2009 by Mr John See Toh, 54, and his wife Chan Jan Siang, 37, both educators.

 

“Especially because I was born blind, I did not know what the running form is like – how to actually move your feet, the arm swing and all that,” he said.

 

From swinging his arms while running “like I was punching people” to becoming a pacer who will help others complete 10km in 70 minutes, Mr Goh has come a long way in 21/2 years of training with Runninghour.

 

Curated from Running event – with a twist, AsiaOne Singapore News