ExploriNG the emotional dynamics of athletes with diSability and sighted guides

By Peter E and Emily Haddow

Guide running and being guided carries a wide range of emotions from both people with vision impairment, and sighted guides. …and this is on top of the physical and practical mechanics of guiding.  The process for a person with vision impairment asking for guides, as well as a sighted person offering themselves up as a guide, can evoke a range of feelings that we all need to be aware of and understand.
When a person with vision impairment puts themselves out there publicly asking for guiding assistance for an event, training run, or even just a social walk, it can create anxiety and stress for them in several ways. Asking for assistance can feel like a sacrifice of independence despite logically knowing that help is needed to enjoy the freedom of running.  People with vision impairment may also fear rejection if they don’t get a positive response, which can happen for a range of valid reasons, such as no guides being available at the requested time or location, or there is just no guide available who can match the pace required.  For these reasons and others more personal, people with vision impairment may avoid asking for help to protect themselves from feelings of vulnerability and rejection. This is why proactive and emotionally sensitive offers of guiding for local parkruns, upcoming events and Sunday training is so important.

Guides can also experience similar feelings of rejection or disappointment if no one comes forward to take up an offer to guide. People can sign up to be a guide for various reasons, but most come with the desire to ‘be helpful’ or to ‘contribute to community’. These are wonderful motivations but can leave guides feeling unnecessary or unneeded if they are part of a large guide contingent for Sunday training, or are not selected to guide an event. It’s important to remember at these times that low attendance of runners with vision impairment at Sunday training can occur for various reasons such as injuries, or just many members with vision impairment being away over the weekend. Coordinating parings for large events can be challenging, with preferred pacing and distances difficult to match. If a guide is not selected, it is not a sign of individual failure. You may wish to offer any sighted guiding support the community, but this may look different depending on the availability, location, pace and preferences of athletes with vision impairment.

All feelings are legitimate, reasonable and need to be respected and understood.  We are all different; some of us may not experience these emotions at all, some of us may feel them but have built the confidence or resilience to ask for a sighted guide…The reality is that there are some of us who remain on a personal journey to navigate these tricky emotions. As a result, they may not be getting the full experience Achilles has to offer.

With all issues there are solutions.

For members with a vision impairment, if you are having difficulty with any of the issues raised in this blog, please reach out to the committee, or maybe a guide or another athlete you are comfortable with to talk through the concerns. We can plan to ensure you get the level of support you need.

For guides, the same advice applies, reach out if you have an issue or are struggling to feel connected. We can plan to help you feel like you are contributing to the community even if people with vision impairment are not as readily available as you had hoped. The Committee is always looking for more help!

It is essential to always remember Achilles is a non-judgmental, inclusive, and open community organisation that is here to support and help people with a disability on their terms.  Giving and receiving support is something we all should be grateful for, in whatever form that takes. Whether it is running together on a Sunday, completing a parkrun, socially being available, or most importantly, learning to be part of a group where members will have needs or preferences different to your own. 

We all think of Achilles as a running club, but it is far more than this for both the athletes with vision impairment and sighted guides. It is a community where we exercise, socialise, sometimes travel, but always support each other in the best way possible. No one should feel rejected or pressured to give or accept help. Enjoy Achilles not for what it gives you but what you can give to the community.

Peter is an athlete with vision impairment and committee member at Achilles Melbourne. Emily is a sighted guide and also a committee member at Achilles Melbourne. Both have dreams to run a marathon in an athlete-sighted guide partnership one day.