It’s April, which gets us all giddy at Runkeeper because that means it’s Boston Marathon time. We’re obsessed with the race over here. It’s in our hometown, the fans are literally the best ever (sorry New York), and it embodies everything awesome about the running community: hard work, community, accomplishment, and celebration. This quote from Kathrine Switzer just about sums it up:
“If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.”
One runner that especially represents this for Runkeeper is Simon Wheatcroft. Ever since he lost his sight at the age of 17, Simon has been determined not to be held back. He’s raced ultramarathons, run from Boston to New York City, is training for a major desert race, and is coming back to run his second Boston Marathon. Simon can always see past his current circumstances, which is one of the standout qualities about all marathon runners. For the next two weeks we’ll be celebrating that spirit through an initiative called #runwithvision. (Think about it: when you’ve hit the wall at mile 18, you have to be really visionary to get through that.)
How can you participate? Marathon runner or not, we’d love for you to share your current goals and stories of how you’ve #runwithvision. Email here to submit your story to our blog and be sure to follow along on our social channels! As you run this month, we’d love for you to include #runwithvision in your post-activity notes* (see image below for an example) , to show us how you’re pushing through. In fact, for every run tagged #runwithvision from now to April 18, we’ll donate to Team With a Vision**, the charity Simon is running Boston with, which is made up of visually impaired runners, their sighted guides, and other supporters who run to raise funds and awareness for the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (MABVI).
We’ve already got some amazing stories lined up of how runners got to the Boston starting line and what they’re most looking forward to at the race. And we can’t wait to get out there and celebrate with you! Tell us, how do you #runwithvision?
Be sure to input #runwithvision in the Notes section when you are saving a Runkeeper activity
