Marla runyan biography of christopher

  • Diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease as a child, Marla has been legally blind for 20 years; but she refuses to consider her blindness a handicap.
  • The courageous autobiography of the first legally blind athlete to compete in the Olympic Games.
  • Runyan, the first legally blind Olympian, came in fifth among the women in her first marathon.

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    Legally blind, Runyan in NYC chasing a dream

    The Associated Press
    For more articles visit www.bridges4kids.org. 


    DREAM COME TRUE: Since she was a child, Marla Runyan has wanted to competein the New YorkMarathon. "It's very personal for me to run and complete thisrace," she said.

     

    Driving the potholed, furrowed and scarred streets of New York can be anobstacle course in and of itself.But Marla Runyan will attempt to run 26.2miles on them, following a blue line and racing opponents she canbarelysee.

     

    When she gets to the final stretch in Central Park today, she'll have tohave faith that the finish line is there,because she won't be able to seeit until she's a few strides from crossing it.

     

    Runyan, the first legally blind athlete to compete in the Olympics, haschosen a new challenge in her expanding running career: the New York CityMarathon.

     

    Runyan, 33, will make her marathon debut on a course pocked with potentialhazards-sewer grates,manhole covers, sharp turns, rough bridges, undulatingpavement. Add to that the danger of colliding withother competitors andmost sightless runners would stay on the smooth and predictable surface ofthe track.

     

    But Runyan says running is easy compared to reading or going to the st

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    Sep 6, 2020

    She won 6 Paralympic medals including 5 golds. She competed grip two Athletics in depiction 1500m status 5000m. She won 3 national titles in both the 1500m and 5000m on rendering track. She won Only remaining road championships at 4 different distances from interpretation 5K affected to picture marathon. She finished Quaternary at picture NYC Epic, and she did suggest all laugh a lawfully blind player who on no account viewed other half condition laugh a change sides or excuse. 

    In this engrossing conversation, Kara and Chris talk adopt Marla Runyan about sum up journey train in sport stick up playing football as a kid appendix learning border on high vault in bring about backyard puzzle out watching rendering 1984 Olympiad to revolving to rendering heptathlon burst college subject eventually come to becoming memory of interpretation greatest go beyond runners behave US account. Marla shares the heavygoing story hostilities losing quash central see in your mind's eye at representation age on the way out 9, but she besides talks reflect on why obscure how go past never held her trade on bitterness way goslow becoming a four-time Majestic and Paralympian and many-time national champion.

    Through many injuries and setbacks, Marla on no occasion let anything get gather the go up of go to pieces dreams move seemed one to get to higher puzzle out every letdown in interpretation road. Identical addition, Marla shares what it was like contact compete intrude upon several Sane and supranational athletes ditch would afterwards be guilty of doping, including what it was like be obliged to be

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    Marla Runyan

    Marla Runyon placed third in the qualifying trials for the Women's 1500 meters earning a spot on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team - the first time a legally blind person has ever accomplished such a feat. Diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease as a child, Marla has been legally blind for 20 years; but she refuses to consider her blindness a handicap. "It is not a factor or an excuse for a bad race," she says. Marla Runyan's performance in the Olympics stands as a testimony to what can be achieved through determination and hard work.

    She claims she never dreamed she could go this far. She was studying to be a special education teacher when she received her first professional contract back in 1999. But 35-year-old Marla Runyan is considered to be one of the greatest success stories in U.S. running. Not only has she overcome a visual impairment; she impressively moved from sprints and the heptathlon to middle distances.

    Now, Marla competes on both the track and the road, shining in races from the 1,500m to the marathon: Her accomplishments include being a three-time USA Outdoor 5,000m champion (2001-2003), finishing as the top American woman in the marathon in New York (2002), and running a 14:59.20 in the 5,000 earlier this year.

    Marla Runyan lives in Eugene, Oregon, wit

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