Blind marathoner breaks stereotypes of disabled people
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By Kang Hyun-kyung
Lee Yong-sul, 54, is not one to let disability stop him from his cause. While working as an acupuncturist and massage therapist, he also runs marathons here and abroad. He has run 258 marathons in Korea and seven ultra marathons overseas to fulfill his commitment to show that disabled people can do anything.
That goal has motivated him to endure training and competing, for which he must overcome his physical and mental limits.
In 1996, Lee became the first blind person in Korea to complete a marathon, which is 42.195 kilometers long. In 2004, he completed the six-day, 251-kilometer Marathon des Sables or Sahara Desert ultra marathon in Morocco, known as “the toughest footrace on Earth.”
Lee, who lost his vision in an accident when he was 22, believes the marathon is an effective vehicle for ordinary people to put themselves in disabled people’s shoes. During a running event, volunteers can run with blind people to help them stay on track. A fabric strap binds the wrists of the two runners to prevent them being separated during the event.
Lee Yong-sul, left, raises his hands after he and his partner Kim Gyeong-su finished the Atacama ultramarathon in 2006. / Courtesy of Kim Gyeong-su
“During the 42.195-kilometer run, my partner and I have many conversations,” Lee told The Korea Times. “I try to chat with my partner as much as possible during the three or four hours to help him increase his understanding of disabled people like me.”
The volunteers and runners form a bond through those chats, even though the chats are short because they need to focus on running. The chats during make them feel closer.
Lee said that although his non-disabled running partners were volunteers, they nevertheless worried about running with a blind man. Thus, easing their concerns and making them feel comfortable about the race was the first thing he dealt with before a race.
“I ask them to explain things that can affect our race,” he said. “For instance, I ask them to let me know in advance if there is an obstacle before us and then to raise our hands, which are tied together, to signal that we are near the obstacle. Such gestures let me know when we need to make a turn soon.”
But the marathon chats are much more than giving signals and tips. Lee said he and his partners also talked about other topics. For example, he would ask his partners to describe the landscape or scenery they were passing, to talk about where the singing birds were and to describe what the other athletes were wearing.
Blind marathoner Lee Yong-sul, right, and his partner during a 2013 ultramarathon in Cambodia.
“I learned that runners’ outfits have changed a lot in the 20 years since I first joined a marathon,” Lee said. “I was told that some runners now wear colorful outfits that have certain slogans or images on them to advertise or promote their activities. It’s interesting to hear such things from my marathon partners.”
The blind marathoner said some of his partners had a hard time describing in great detail what was happening because they had poor communication skills. But such experiences are constructive because the runner and his partner learned to understand each other better.
Lee discovered that many of his marathon partners became advocates for disabled people after running with him for three or four hours.
“I remember a teacher who ran with me in a marathon years ago,” Lee said. “He told me that before the race, he had no idea how blind people lived because he thought there was nothing that they could do.
“But he changed a lot after the marathon. I was told that he talked a lot about his marathon experience with me to increase his students’ understanding of blind people. People can learn much more about blind people if they volunteer to run a marathon with them.”
Advocates
In the past two decades, Lee has run with plenty of partners from diverse backgrounds, including teachers, students, housewives and military officers. He tries to have new partners in each marathon because he wants to create as many advocates for disabled people as possible.
The media coverage of events with blind marathoners also helps break down the public’s stereotypes of disabled people.
Born in a poor family in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province as the fourth of six children, Lee has played a considerable role in building Koreans’ awareness of disabled people.
Shin Young-woo, who once volunteered to run with Lee, said marathons had become more open to disabled people because of Lee.
“Organizers now think about ways to help blind marathoners finish the running event smoothly,” Shin said. “Before Lee, there were no blind marathoners, so organizers had no reason to think about how to accommodate them. But now, they pay greater attention to every detail of the procedure to remove any obstacle that blind runners may face.”
Lee has helped increase the number of blind marathoners. In 2000, blind marathoners organized into a group, which now has 150 members. According to Lee, about 70 are active marathoners.
Lee also inspired the creation of a volunteer runners’ organization. In 2006, Happy Leg was formed for marathoners willing to assist blind runners. Blind marathoners can ask the group for a partner.
Lee’s tireless efforts to raise public awareness of disabled people have impressed the world. Since completing the Sahara desert ultra marathon in 2004, he has run six other ultra marathons, including the desert race Gobi March and Acadama. His feats have been reported overseas.
The ultra marathon in Cambodia in 2013 was the latest overseas event in which he participated. Veteran marathoner Kim Gyeong-su, a civil servant at Seoul’s Gangbuk District Office, was his partner.
Kim first teamed with Lee in 2005 for the Gobi desert ultra marathon. Lee said he contacted Kim about helping him finish the challenging event. Since then, Kim has helped Lee run in two more desert ultra marathons.
Long-distance running tests runners’ physical and mental endurance. In ultra marathons, runners cover an average of 35 kilometers a day for four or five days, causing blisters or other injuries that can take quite some time to heal, according to Kim.
As with his previous races, Lee experienced a testing moment in Cambodia. Kim said Lee had serious blisters on his foot, which could have stopped him from completing the race.
“He asked me not to tell the organizer about his foot condition because he didn’t want to drop out of the race,” Kim said. “But his condition worsened as he continued to run. So we ultimately went to the organizer and told him about Lee’s foot.
“Fortunately, Lee was able to get medical treatment there and finish the race. This incident shows that he is a very strong person who overcomes seemingly insurmountable difficulties.”