What community are you a part of? How do you define
community and work to support members of your community? These questions and
the topic of “community” have been rattling around my head for the past couple
of days.
This past weekend I had the pleasure of hosting my friend
Diane Berberian, who was in town from Florida to run the Boston AthleticAssociation 10k with Team With a Vision, Diane is racing in the BAA Distance Medley which includes the 5k, 10K, and half marathon. Diane is
a legendary athlete, coach, mentor, and teacher who has completed marathons and
IronMan as well as countless 5ks and sprint-tris.
Although we kept busy with lunches, dinners, chocolate
factory tour, little league baseball game, brewery visit (paired w/ the
chocolate!) and the actual 10k, the highlight of the weekend was chatting with
Diane over coffee in my kitchen about the community comprised of athletes who
are blind/visually impaired.
I identify as a community organizer and my family is very active
in our local neighborhood/community. I have a strong network of friends,
neighbors, and colleagues who share similar interests and passions as I do
(politics, local beer, running, community service, etc). However, I am
relatively new to the world of athletes who are blind/visually impaired (B/VI).
My first introduction was the 2013 California International
Marathon (CIM) which is held every December in Sacramento, CA and also doubles
as the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) National Marathon
Championships. Well over 40 athletes who are B/VI participate in either the
marathon or relay. This was also my first marathon in which I was running with
(two kick ass) sighted guides. Outside of my co-worker, who I flew out with, I
didn’t know anyone else at the race. To say the least, I was blown away by the
entire experience. As is the case with any race that has a lot of runners who
are B/VI, the running took backseat to the networking, learning, and
relationship building.
Since December 2013, I’ve been focusing on building my
running (and now also alpine skiing) community. I keep in touch with athletes over
Facebook, texts, group runs for folks who live in Greater Boston, and a couple
of times a year a group of us are at the same race such as the Boston Marathon,
which brings together over 25 marathoners who are B/VI.
Fast forward to this past weekend to my conversation with
Diane. We talked about the balance between personal performance and the
community as a whole. We talked about how the community (or as she calls it the
Village) is more important than any one athlete, sport (there is a lot of
cross-over between runners and triathletes), and race. Our individual
performances are incredibly important and we should celebrate our personal
accomplishments. But we should do this in addition to promoting our community
and ensuring that as athletes who are B/VI, we represent our community to the
best of our ability while recognizing that we are in a sense always
representing more than just ourselves.
We also talked about the importance of mentoring and lifting
up athletes who are new to the sport including young people. In order for our
sport to grow, we need to encourage and work with young people to become active
and share our examples of individuals who have some challenges with our limited
vision but these are simply bumps in the road, not roadblocks. We chatted about
the need to cultivate more races that are friendly toward people with different
abilities and tactics and strategies (there is the organizer in me!) to connect
with race directors. More friendly races means more opportunities for athletes
to compete especially locally.
Finally, somewhere around my third mug of
coffee, we discussed the need to create more community programs at local
organizations who work with people who are B/VI, including young people and
individuals who are active. Diane is very interested in replicating some of the
community programs that the Massachusetts Association for the Blind andVisually Impaired (where I’m fortunate to work at) runs in here hometown.
Here are some ways in which we can build and support our
community. Please comment below with your ideas.
·
You don’t have to race every race. A few times a
year forget about setting a PR or staying on pace and run with a friend.
Sharing miles at a comfortable talking pace is a great way to pass the time and
get to know another athlete.
·
Join a running club or attend a weekly run at
your local running store. This is a wonderful way to meet knew runners and if
you are B/VI a great opportunity to recruit new sighted guides.
·
Go old school and call someone you know to wish
them luck on their next big race. Social media and email are fantastic
communication tools, but sometimes a direct personal greeting is more
effective.
·
Recruit a training partner to stay motivated.
Your training partner can be local or someone who you keep in contact with over
the internet/phone.
·
Organize an informal fun run (including
families) in your neighborhood followed by a potluck lunch/dinner at your home
or nearby park. If you enjoy adult beverages, you can run then share some
bottles of local craft beer.
This weekend reaffirmed all the beautiful things about our
community and that we are strong and a talented group of athletes and have very
supportive families and allies. Our community is very lucky to have so many
athletes already working on this front and I hope to leverage my experiences
and skills to do the same. At the end of the day, no matter what race I just
completed or training activity I rocked or struggled through, I will always put
OUR community first.
