These Dogs are Helping Runners in a HUGE Way


This week started the Wag a thon with Guiding Eyes For The Blind.  I shared why I was participating in this event last week and I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw that some of you made donations to our page. THANK YOU!

Photo from Guiding Eyes Instagram

I wanted to share a fun piece of information with you today.  I’ve been donating to Guiding Eyes for several years now, and for the past few I would get Thank You letters and cards in the mail from the President and CEO Tom Panek.  What I did NOT know until I started the Wag a thon is that Tom is actually blind himself AND he is a runner.

Photo from Guiding Eyes Instagram

He ran the Boston marathon and the BAA 5K this year!  He ran the 5K with his Yellow Labrador guide dog Gus and the marathon of course with a human guide.  I thought that was just AMAZING and enjoyed hearing his story.  His first race with Gus was a 5 miler a week before the NYC Marathon



PLEASE watch this video. I promise it will take less than 5 minutes out of your day and if you are a runner, it will tug at your heart! 

What was your favorite part of the video? -M




38 comments:

  1. What a wonderful way to start a Friday morning! Crying, but good crying.

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  2. Isn't it amazing what dogs (and their trainers) can do?

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    1. Yes, dogs definitely add so much to people's lives (in all ways)!

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  3. Sounds like a wonderful experience!! I've seen some guides leading blind runners when I've run the Chicago Marathon. It's always very humbling and takes me out of my own suffering for sure!

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    1. They are looking for a way to have guide dogs run marathons too. They will have to train 5 or so dogs to do a relay to cover the distance though.

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    2. Yes, it sure puts thing into perspective. I don't know that I've ever seen a blind runner at a race but I have sure see people missing limbs and that is humbling as well.

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  4. That is fantastic! A couple friends of mine run with blind runners in Boston. So cool.

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  5. Such an amazing organization. Thank you so much for sharing the video. It was truly inspiring!

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  6. Wow! I am always amazed when I see visually impaired runners out there on the course.

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  7. This is so cool! Dogs are awesome. It's great taht you support this group - their work is so important!

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  8. This is so cool! I have to go check out your post from last week. I've been an Achilles guide and it's so rewarding and humbling. Blind athletes are amazing. Thanks for highlighting this organization. Have a great weekend!

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    1. That is so awesome that you are a guide. I am going to read more about that.

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  9. What an awesome organization. I agree with Wendy, when I see visually impaired runners or amputees I always feel so thankful for me and the aches and pains I experience.

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  10. What a great story! Total tear-jerker, but I loved it!

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  11. That's amazing! I'm always in awe of the amount of work guide dogs and their trainers put in.

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  12. An amazing video! The emotion displayed by Tom at their 5 mile race made me cry.

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  13. My family did some work with the organization when I was younger. Our neighbor was blind and had a guide dog, and we learned quite a bit about the process from her. We also met up with the trainees and their young dogs, getting to know everything they'd need to be paired up.

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    1. O wow! Did you ever think of being a puppy raiser for the organization?

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  14. Amazing video, thanks for sharing!

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  15. I've followed Scott Jurek's stories about helping blind runners complete races but didn't realize you could do this with dogs too. So cool!

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    1. I'm not sure I know who Scott Jurek is. I'll have to look him up!

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  16. Wow! What an amazing story. Thanks for sharing the video. The part when they were at the 5-mile race got me all choked up and teary eyed.:)

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    1. It's definitely an emotional video and I think runners can relates!

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  17. Oh, this is awesome! What a great program to support and congrats to Tom!

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