[blindkid] cross country

[Pat Renfranz]

Hi Rosina,

My child is going into 9th grade, with no light perception. She has been on
the cross country team.

She did not use her cane for practices or races. Rather, she had a running
partner and the two held an exercise band between them. The band is a long
rubbery sheet about 6 inches wide by 2-4 feet long, which we got at Walmart
or some store like that; people also use a short piece of rope or whatever
is comfortable. At practices, team-mates would take turns running with her.
They varied a lot in how much intuition they had, such as about when to turn
or obstacles. For races, she ran with her dad--he was a better guide, and
her teammates could focus on their own race. We talked about finding a
runner in high school who wanted some service credit to run with her, but
never did it. 

I may be wrong, but I think running in a pack with a cane would be sort of
dangerous for everybody, and in our case (no vision) would have been no help
following the route.

Good luck!
Pat


On 8/19/10 1:34 PM, "Rosina Solano" <colemangirly at yahoo.com> wrote:

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> Okay as per my earlier post I mentioned that Roman wants to run cross country
> in middle school this year.  From what I remember when my brother ran cross
> country (30 years ago) they ran alot at golf courses and the way was chalked. 
> I just got off the phone with the coach and have some questions for you all.
>  
> Sometimes when they practice they are on uneven ground.  Okay, I don't think
> it will be a problem as we are in the country and Roman runs around here all
> the time.  Yes, sometimes he falls but he usually just somersalts and then
> comes right back up running.  I know he dosen't have the best vision, but he
> really likes to run.  But sometimes they run on the road and downtown.  While
> he might fall down in uneven ground, I am much more worried about curbs and
> such.  They run in packs usually and so he would be with someone, but does he
> take his cane?  Wont it get in the way.  But can he depend on someone to call
> out "curb, ditch, or step"?  I don't really know how to go about this.  Taking
> his can would definately slow him down and he dosen't want to take it.  He is
> extremely adaptable and runs out here in the country with me without it, but
> then it is just the two of us and I warn him about tree roots and such.
>  
> Does anyone out there run cross country or know of anyone that does that could
> help us?  We really need some pointers.
>  
> Thank you in advance;
> Rosina and Roman
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