Blind Warriors BLIND RUNNER Running Club

Vu Tien Manh founded a running club for the blind called “Blind Runner”, with the desire to not only create a sports playground but also a place to help the blind have the opportunity to cultivate the joy of life. Vu Tien Manh (24 years old, Phu Tho) is a professional runner. At the 12th ASEAN Para Games held in Cambodia, Manh brought home 3 silver medals for the Vietnamese delegation in the 800m, 1,500m and relay events.

Blind Runners Club is not only a place to practice and exchange to satisfy the passion for running, but also provides motivation to help the blind conquer themselves, escape the blind community, confidently integrate and communicate with everyone.

Realizing that many blind people want to run but do not have the conditions, Vu Tien Manh founded a running club for the blind called "Blind Runner", with the desire to not only create a sports playground but also a place to help blind people have the opportunity to interact and cultivate the joy of life. Vietnam.vn would like to introduce to you the photo collection "Blind Warriors of the BLIND RUNNER Running Club" by author Tran Duc Hanh. The photo collection was taken by the author in Hanoi and was also submitted by the author to the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam - Happy Vietnam", organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

With the desire to break down social prejudices about the visually impaired, Blind Runners has operated as a real home, where there is no longer a distance between members.

The Blind Runners Club of Tien Manh and his colleagues uses the slogan “nothing is impossible”. Up to now, the club has reached 30 members, divided into 2 groups: new participants and long-time runners. These groups practice according to the curriculum prepared by Manh.

Without eyes, running for the blind has many special features. Each person will have a sighted companion to guide the way. The running pairs will be connected by a rope around their hands.

Through this string, the blind runner will control the speed according to the guide as well as navigate to suit the running path.

“Running in the dark, the ears of the blind will operate at 200% capacity. We will listen to the cadence of other runners to adjust our cadence. In addition, the ears also replace the eyes to capture other important information through the alarm on the running watch or the exchange of the guide,” Manh shared.

Every Sunday morning, at Bach Thao Park (Hanoi), Mr. Vu Tien Manh and his friends start warming up and practicing here.

After a period of training, almost all members of the club can now run 10km or more. What is special to them is not only the distance they can run, but also the confidence and optimism they feel.

“At first, I could only run 50m, then the distance increased to 100m. My performance kept increasing and now I can run 10km. Running helps improve my health and more importantly, I get to meet and interact with people like me,” said Ho Minh Quang, a member of the Blind Runner club.

With the message "Never give up, believe in yourself", the Blind Runner running club for the visually impaired is spreading positive and optimistic values ​​to the disadvantaged community in society every day, helping them to exercise and build a healthy and happy lifestyle. In 2024, the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam" continues to be organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications in coordination with the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists on the website   https://happy.vietnam.vn is open to all Vietnamese citizens and foreigners aged 15 and over. The contest aims to honor individuals and groups with positive information products, making practical contributions to the propaganda and promotion of a beautiful image of Vietnam to the world. Thereby helping people in the country, compatriots abroad and international friends access authentic images of the country, Vietnamese people, Vietnam's achievements in ensuring human rights, towards a happy Vietnam. Each contest category (photo and video) has the following prizes and prize values: - 01 Gold Medal: 70,000,000 VND - 02 Silver Medals: 20,000,000 VND - 03 Bronze Medals: 10,000,000 VND - 10 Encouragement Prizes: 5,000,000 VND - 01 most voted work: 5,000,000 VND The winning authors will be invited by the Organizing Committee to attend the Announcement Ceremony and Award Ceremony and Certificate on live television of Vietnam Television.

Vietnam.vn