An avid runner, when he lost his sight in his early 20s, Thomas Panek had no intention of giving up the sport he loved so much. Thanks to the help of his guide dogs Westley, Waffle and Gus, Panek made history at the New York City Half Marathon on Sunday.
Panek, who is the president and CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, is the first blind runner to complete the half marathon with the help of guide dogs. His trio of Labrador Retrievers took turns pacing him along the course, with Westley and Waffle both running five miles each, and Panek’s long term guide dog Gus taking on the final 3.1 miles with his owner.
Panek and the dogs finished the half marathon in just under two hours and 21 minutes.
Thanks to the help of running guides, Panek has completed 20 marathons since losing his eyesight, however he missed the independence of running alone, which is why he designed a running training plan for his dogs.
Telling CNN, “It never made sense to me to walk out the door and leave my guide dog behind when I love to run and they love to run. It was just a matter of bucking conventional wisdom and saying why not."
In 2015, Panek set up a training programme named “Running Guides”, which prepares dogs to guide when running. The dogs not only require training to run alongside their owner, but to navigate terrain changes, stairs, kerbs and to tune out the crowds and distractions large events present. So far 24 dogs have gone through the specialist training.
As well as race day, it’s all about building up the training miles together, to allow the dog to pick up the right pace. “The bond is really important. You can't just pick up the harness and go for a run with these dogs," Panek said. You're training with a team no matter what kind of athlete you are, and you want to spend time together in that training camp."
