Ji Sang-jin (right)
Who lost his sight in 2019, took a commemorative photo with his high school classmate Bang Hyun-tae
after completing 10 kilometers at the Gongju Baekje Marathon on Sunday, 한국야동 holding the guide
rope that tied their wrists together.
Mr. Ji Sang-jin, 32
A blind man who participated in the 2023 Gongju Baekje Marathon in Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, on
Sunday, completed 10 kilometers with his high school classmate Bang Hyun-tae, 32, with their wrists
connected by a string.
It’s been about four years since Ji has been able to run in the fresh air. “It wasn’t easy for me to
experience running outside after my eyesight deteriorated, but my friend ran with me and I finished. I
thought it would take a long time, but I’m glad I finished within the time limit (one and a half hours).”
After losing his sight to macular degeneration in 2019, Mr. Ji was housebound for a year after becoming
visually impaired. With high intraocular pressure, 성인웹툰 she thought her vision would return after she
took a break from work and got enough rest. The timing of his vision loss coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Disability is a process of acceptance, not overcoming”.
“I stayed at home for about a year and then went to a welfare center to learn Braille and other things I
needed to be independent. “After I became disabled, I felt I had a lot to offer,” he said, “so I’m more
active in competitions like this than I used to be.
“I had a treadmill, a rowing machine, and a cycling machine at home, but I wanted to exercise in the fresh
air, so I decided to participate in a race in Gongju, where I live,” said Ji, who had never run a race, let alone
a marathon, when she was not disabled.
On that day, the pair ran with a “guide runner” line borrowed from the National Federation of the Blind,
wrapped around each other’s wrists. Rather than being fixed to their wrists, the ropes can be wound and
unwound freely like a rope, allowing them to adjust the distance according to the situation.
When asked what it was like to complete his first ‘Guided Runner’, Mr. Bang, who had never run a
marathon or been a guided runner, said, “It wasn’t so much that I was guiding as it was that my friend
was running better than I was, so he kept up my pace. At the beginning of the race, I thought, ‘I’ll never
run again,’ but as I ran, I thought, ‘I want to do it again next year. “My friend, let’s run together next year,”
he said with a big smile. 19가이드03
