Blind Runner Prepares to Participate in New York City Marathon 2023

One morning in Central Park in Manhattan, New York, two men were running together and one of them bumped into a woman, which made her angry for a moment, but she gradually calmed down when she saw the rope tied around the waist of the two men.

Francesco Magisano, the 28-year-old runner who collided with the woman, is blind, and his running partner Nev Schulman, 39, have apologized for the incident. It was the first time the two had run together in preparation for the New York City Marathon this Sunday, November 5.

Magisano is one of more than 500 disabled runners running with a companion to lead the way when the final major race of 2023 takes place on November 5.

Schulman (left) walks alongside Magisano during a training session in Manhattan's Central Park, preparing for the final major race of the year, the New York City Marathon. Photo: NYT

The New York City Marathon presents a unique set of challenges for blind runners and their running buddies. The large crowd of screaming spectators and runners — up to 50,000 by organizers’ estimates this year — make it difficult for runners to lead blind running buddies over the 26.5-mile course.

So in Central Park, Magisano and Schulman prepared as best they could. “Which side do you prefer to run on?” Schulman asked Magisano as they stood near the entrance to Central Park. “I brush my teeth with my right hand, so I like the right-hand runner,” Magisano replied.

The two walked together with a rope tied around their waists and Magisano's right hand on his partner's left shoulder. The 2023 New York City Marathon course starts on Staten Island, runs through every borough in the city, and ends in Manhattan's Central Park. "They've already marked the finish line. So there's a grandstand on the left," Schulman said, helping Magisano get a feel for the scene.

Magisano was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare disease, when he was 10 months old. He always had poor eyesight, and in ninth grade, he lost it completely over a three-week period. “I would walk home from school every day and the lines on the street would blur a little bit,” the 28-year-old runner said.

Magisano only started running in 2017, after a chance conversation at a grocery store on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He was standing with his cane in front of a display of bell peppers—a useful food that Magisano loves because it can be eaten raw.

Then an older man tapped Magisano on the shoulder and said, “Do you run?” Magisano recalled asking. The older man then told him about Achilles, a group of disabled athletes who meet twice a week to run in Central Park.

“I’ve always liked trying new things. I’d never run before,” Magisano said. That same week, Magisano arrived and ran with Achilles. Soon after, he signed up for his first marathon.

Magisano currently heads the Achilles chapters of the New York City Metro Area, and November 5 will mark his sixth time running the New York City Marathon. Magisano's goal is to run in a sub-3:30, meaning he finishes under 3 hours and 30 minutes. Earlier this year, he completed a 320-mile triathlon that involved swimming, running, and biking over three days in Florida.

Blind and visually impaired runners are allowed to have up to two guides at the New York City Marathon. These runners do not pay an entry fee, are not scored, and do not count toward the official finish time. They must wear the same bib number as the guide and are not allowed to push or pull blind and visually impaired runners, according to New York Road Runners, the race organizer.

Magisano and a fellow runner from the Achilles organization on the 2023 Boston Marathon course. Photo: Boston Marathon

Magisano will run with two guides, one of whom will make sure Magisano eats well throughout the race. Magisano likes to run with a new guide and a guide who has run with him before. “It makes it fun,” Magisano said, then told Schulman. “You’re a new guide, which means fun.”

Schulman is the producer and host of MTV 's "Catfish," an American reality TV show about the truth and lies of online dating. He was chosen as the pacer for this year's race because he wanted his seventh New York City Marathon to be different. He recalled not reaching his desired pace and slowing down during his first marathon.

"I heard a loud shout from behind me, 'Blind runner on the right,' and two guides, a woman in her 50s, passed me," Schulman said, adding that the incident left him embarrassed and eager to become a guide in marathons.

As Schulman recounted the story, a group of runners ahead heard the phrase 'blind runner' and parted to make way for him and Magisano, thinking Schulman was talking to them.

But a woman, seemingly fascinated by the sunlight streaming down a nearby tree, stopped in the middle of the road to take a photo. Schulman gently grabbed Magisano's elbow and shifted his body to the right to guide him around her.

Schulman said running the final major of the year as a guide runner was a new experience. He said his goal for the 2023 New York City Marathon was simply to navigate successfully, without incident, and get himself and Magisano to the finish line safely.

The woman taking the photo wasn’t the only obstacle Schulman and Magisano faced. He had to figure out how to maneuver around runners they might pass or avoid those running toward him. The lead runner also kept an eye out for pedestrians and cyclists trying to cross the street. At one point, Schulman told Magisano to duck to avoid a low tree branch.

“Sometimes it’s hard to listen to directions, even for minutes at a time. So there are times when I have to run by feel,” Magisano predicted of the New York City Marathon, saying he would focus on the feel of his guide’s elbows and knees. “You might not see it, but the hair on our arms is like the hair extensions in ‘Avatar.’ They sync up just enough that we have a connection,” Magisano half-joked.

Magisano (second from right) and his companions take a photo with two runners before the shakeout run to prepare for the 2022 New York City Marathon. Photo: FBNV

Magisano also takes initiative in the race. He doesn't want to run on the painted lines on the road, which can make the track uneven. So he asks the guide to move him away from them. Magisano also wants the guide to tell him how fast he is running and how far he has covered. But most importantly, safety is important for both of them.

Magisano said that lead runners often forget to eat and drink, which can be dangerous given the pace and distance they cover in marathons. “They’re so focused on leading that they can go two hours without eating,” he said.

Magisano has helped hundreds of disabled athletes, and Achilles is always looking for more members. Magisano jokes that before running, his homework was to write an essay on the history of football. Now he gets real exercise and has built a strong community of friends. And of course, there are life lessons to be learned from running marathons.

“You will struggle and you will feel pain,” Magisano said. “It’s a handicap that makes life difficult, but you have to overcome it, otherwise you will fail.”

The New York City Marathon was founded in 1970 and is part of the World Marathon Majors, the world's largest annual marathon, and is held at the end of the year after Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, and Chicago. The current men's record for the New York City Marathon is 2 hours 5 minutes 6 seconds, set by Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. The women's record is 2 hours 22 minutes 31 seconds, set by Kenyan Margaret Okayo in 2003.

New York City Marathon 2023 takes place at 8am local time, or 7pm Hanoi time, on Sunday, November 5.

Hong Duy

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