New grant funded guides up and running in support of local visually impaired runners
A team of newly trained runners have been hitting the track as guides in support of local blind and visually impaired runners.
Earlier this year, Winchester Fit Club Running Club (WFCRC) successfully applied to Winchester City Council for Community Grant funding to officially train 20 new guide runners from both WFCRC and Winchester Running Club.
A guide runner assists a blind or visually impaired runner, helping them navigate a safe route outdoors or on a track. The guides trained via WFCRC, which is England Athletics affiliated, are now up and and running in support of five visually impaired runners, enabling them to join club sessions, parkruns and local races.
WFCRC member Keira Mills is blind, and spoke recently about the experience of running with a guide: “In and around Winchester, we have a lovely community of
blind and visually impaired people that WFCRC are able to support. Not being able to find a guide is one of the reasons blind people feel they can't run and Fit Club have noticed this, especially with more people reaching out to the team.
“Thanks to the funding from Winchester City Council, we now have a total of 28 guide runners in Winchester. For most blind people, running without a guide is also impossible. But thanks to Fit Club, it no longer is.”
Mike Hastie from Winchester Fit Club RC said: “With an estimated 320,000 people registered as sight impaired or severely sight impaired across the UK - including an estimated 550-600 locally within Winchester - the need for accessible running opportunities is significant.
“The training of 20 new guide runners was a major step forward for the local community and we’re grateful to Winchester City Council for their support.
“Research from the Royal National Institute of Blind People highlights that blind and partially sighted people are twice as likely to be inactive, underlining the very real barriers faced in accessing sport and exercise. Since 2017, we’ve helped hundreds of runners discover and enjoy running in a supportive, welcoming environment focused on participation over performance – and by strengthening our ability to offer safe, inclusive opportunities, we’re helping to ensure more people in our community can experience the benefits of running.”
Winchester City Council’s Cabinet member for Healthy Communities Cllr Kathleen Becker said: “I am delighted that this fantastic project has been made possible by our grant funding – it is wonderful that visually impaired members of our community are out running and enjoying all of the benefits offered by the exercise, and their club membership. What an inspirational example of how to remove barriers and make sport truly accessible!”
A range of Winchester City Council grant funding opportunities for district non-profit clubs and organisations are currently available.