posted on February 25, 2009

Running continues to be a growth area in accessible sports and recreation, especially for visually impaired runners, whose participation options range from United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) developmental sports camps to the Paralympics and include prestigious road races.

The Vision 5K, the US national championship 5K-road race for the blind and visually impaired, takes place Sunday, June 7 (9:30 AM) at Boston College in Newton, Massachusetts.

The race has a new course (the last two ran through Boston’s Back Bay), but still awards prize money to the top five visually impaired male and female finishers (and their sighted guides).

Another popular race feature is the Blindfold Challenge, where participants don blindfolds and pair up with sighted guides to experience what it’s like to run without sight.

The Vision 5K is sponsored by and is a major for a number of organizations that serve the blind, including the Carroll Center for the Blind (Newton, Mass.), the National Braille Press (Boston) and Vision Community Services (Boston).

Register online after March 1, 2009 or call 617.732.0264 for information.

Another 5K that offers prize money to elite blind runners is the Mark Lynn & Associates Stampede for VIPS, which takes place Saturday, August 29, 2009 in Louisville, Kentucky.

The race is a fundraiser for Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS), based in Louisville.

This year’s location is not set. In past years, the race ran out and back under the lights of the Second Street Bridge connecting Louisville’s Waterfront Park with Jeffersonville, Ind. An Ironman triathlon scheduled the next day makes the Waterfront unavailable. Locations being considered include Churchill Downs and the Louisville Zoo. Call USABA coach Jim Vargo (502.452.8042) for more information.