In a time of 2 hours and 7 minutes, Li Zezhou, a 17-year-old visually impaired runner with a second-level disability, crossed the finish line of the 2024 Tianjin Marathon, to complete his first half-marathon.

"Although I cannot see, the cheers from the crowd filled me with joy. Thanks to the support of my accompanying runners, the race went smoothly," said Li, a student from Tianjin School for Visual Impairment, who participated in the Oct 20 event alongside five other visually impaired runners.

Yan Zhuang, head of the Tianjin Red Cross Foundation's public welfare running project, hosted a celebration for them at the finish line. "Regardless of the results, they have conquered themselves," Yan said.

For visually impaired people, overcoming their fears is the most important step. Before the event, the Tianjin Red Cross Foundation recruited several experienced accompanying runners and regularly organized special training sessions at the school.

Yan added that a visually impaired runner is usually accompanied by at least three other runners. The most critical one is the main guide runner who holds the guide rope and needs to give the visually impaired runner verbal and physical signals for when to accelerate, decelerate, and turn. The other two guides run behind and in front of the visually impaired athlete as shields and hand the runner supplies when needed.

"In an unfamiliar environment, we are their eyes. They entrust their hearts to us. We believe in each other," said Wang Lan, an accompanying runner with four years' experience of guide running.

The Tianjin Marathon was the first time she had accompanied a visually impaired athlete in a race, and the experience gave her a deeper understanding of the visually impaired community. "Before this, I never thought that blind people, who face many difficulties in daily life, could also run marathons," Wang said.