Hannah and Rachel running the New York Marathon last November.
Hannah and Rachel running the New York Marathon last November.
The 51st Rotorua Marathon is on May 2. Among the runners will be former Rotorua journalist Rachel Grunwell who tells how she will be guiding blind runner Hannah Pascoe.
I call myself a "Girl Guide" - because guiding blind runners is about doing a good deed and being a "leader".
I used to be an actual Girl Guide while growing up in Rotorua. However, I'm a much better "girl who guides". I love it for lots of reasons.
But first I'll rewind to how I got involved with disabled athletes.
For the past three years I penned a New Zealand Herald column on fitness, health and nutrition. A spin-off was I became passionate about this industry. I've since become a qualified yoga teacher and marathoner. I've also recently launched www.inspiredhealth.co.nz/ which has healthy recipes, a blog and a fitness and events directory.
My mission is to inspire Kiwis to get healthier, fitter and happier - like me. Two years ago I started running through the club GetRunning and loved it. I heard about the Achilles NZ charity through my friend Niva Retimanu, who reads the news on Newstalk ZB. I loved the charity's mission to help disabled athletes to participate in mainstream events. So I asked the chairman Peter Loft if I could help.
Last year I started going to their twice monthly training sessions. Members include paraplegics, amputees, a wide range of disabilities. It's not long until you marvel at their abilities. I sometimes take my son Zach, 10, too and he enjoys it.
Achilles NZ ambassadors Rachel Grunwell, left, Greg Boyed, middle, and Niva Retimanu - before they all guided Achilles athletes at the Taupo Half Marathon last year.
Last year I became an Achilles ambassador alongside Niva and the likes of TV presenter Greg Boyed and ex footballing legends Frank Bunce and Tawera Nikau. They're a great bunch.
I also helped raise funds to get a team to the New York Marathon last November. Every year, Achilles takes a group of Kiwis to this event where the charity is based. I was among a team guiding Hannah though that amazing race. It's one of the biggest marathons globally with 50,000 runners and 3 million spectators who cheer so loudly it's like running through a rock concert.
I was the lead guide for Hannah. We surrounded her to stop fellow runners from accidentally bumping into her. We took turns holding a guide rope and giving her verbal cues. I also described funny things so she could laugh too.
Taking on a marathon is an incredible challenge that most able-bodied folk would never contemplate. It takes guts, dedication and tough training. So imagine being blind on top of that and trusting someone to guide you safely through 42km of up and down hills, over kerbs, and through drink stations full of discarded cups. I tried running blindfolded once with a friend - it's scary.
Guiding is a big responsibility. It's harder for me than running my own race. I have to watch out for any thing that could trip Hannah up as well as not run out of puff. But it's great holding a guide rope. When Hannah finished the New York Marathon our team all smiled, cried and hugged at the finish-line. We had helped Hannah to improve her previous marathon time by 36 minutes.
When Hannah asked for a guide in Rotorua I volunteered. TV One presenter Greg Boyed will help me out guiding Hannah too for the first stage of the race. He's doing a half-marathon distance, which is awesome.
Hannah is a top running companion. She's witty, smart, and fun to be around. Besides we're both provincial girls at heart. I'm Rotorua-born, while she's from Invercargill. We click.
The team who helped Hannah Pascoe run the New York Marathon in November. That's Rachel on the left, next is American guide Victoria Rodriguez, Hannah Pascoe and American guide Laura Buso.
She cracks me up when she remarks "that's mean as" when she loves something! She also inspires me on the journey she's faced.
It was January 2010 when she noticed her sight fading. A doctor broke the news it was congenital glaucoma and said "there's nothing I can do for your eyes".
"I took it better than the doctor," Hannah says. "While he was telling me, he was basically in tears. But I just didn't realise then what was ahead of me". Within a year she was blind.
She admits in the past sometimes feeling "terrified". But now she's used to the dark. She occasionally gets flashes of colour and "I even get rainbows! It can be like looking through a kaleidoscope, she explains.
One of her last sight memories was seeing her favourite spot, Oreti Beach, west of Invercargill. There was a blue sky, the sun glistened on the calm stretch of water. It was "just beautiful", says Hannah.
She uses a walking stick or guide-dog Cora to get around. Her family and the Invercargill community also help.
Hannah works helping fellow blind Maori to access services. She loves her job, but she's studying to become a run coach and help others run too.
Running is something Hannah started while blind by the way. It was in 2011 and she tried out a local event. She didn't really enjoy it as her guide ran too slow! So Andrew Moreton (Southland manager for Westpac) offered to guide her the following year and it thrilled her to be speedy. She relishes the "freedom" while running and being fit. Andrew then helped her run her first New York Marathon in 2013. I helped her with the next. The Rotorua Marathon will be her third crack at the distance - her first on Kiwi soil. It will be a privilege being beside her again. It will be my seventh marathon and the second time I'll lap Lake Rotorua (so I know what I'm in for).
If you see Hannah cheer loudly. She's absolutely courageous. Actually she's the real leader. She's inspiring others to not let anything in life slow you down. All I hope to do is inspire others to lend a hand too. You too could find a friend, have fun and smash a goal too. This girl guide recommends it.
Find out more about Achilles - call the Rotorua contact Glennys Kereopa,
