SINGAPORE: Running a 21km half-marathon is a challenge in itself but two men are going the extra mile by running blindfolded at this year’s Standard Chartered Marathon.
Joe Tan and Siva Shanker want to raise funds for the visually impaired, specifically, for a non-profit organisation called Global Clinic which conducts medical missions in underdeveloped countries. Its doctors perform a variety of procedures, including cataract surgeries on visually-impaired people.
“I thought it would be really, really cool if we could do something that will make people go: ‘Hey, that is really hard to do’, and bring light to the cause which is how hard it is for the visually impaired to do something like running,” said Shanker, a digital marketer.
Tan putting a blindfold on Shanker. (Photo: Shawn Lim)
For Tan, a social entrepreneur who runs events for charity, he feels this would take their message a step further. “A lot of time people run and say they are going to support a cause. So what is the difference? It is really (in) putting ourselves in the shoes of these individuals that we will be able to push out the message more strongly,” said Tan.
During the marathon, Tan, 33 and Shanker, 37, will run with professional pacers trained to guide blind runners. The pair, who have made it a point to train with each other weekly, admit it’s been challenging but said the experience so far only motivates them further.
“It’s mentally very challenging because when you lose your sense of sight, your other senses are heightened. So a little crash, a little click there make you really scared. If you are not 100 per cent focused, it is really dangerous,” said Shanker.
“It is challenging because we are entrusting every step of the whole journey to somebody else and it is something we need to get used to,” said Tan. “But if you ask me now, yes it is definitely worth it because of the awareness we are generating and the funds we are raising for Global Clinic.”
The Standard Chartered Marathon will take place on Dec 3 and 4.
