Its been almost 6 months of Running Hour and I am still enjoying it as much (if not more now that I have some more rapport with the buddies, particularly xiao ling and Ian (whose constant desire to keep his hair neat and combed, even between laps is always amusing!).
RUN FOR INCLUSION
I underwent the induction process and became an official Running Hour member which was very exciting and just made me feel a bit more involved! Something special and unique which I able to participate in thanks to running hour was the ‘Run for Inclusion’ event which took place in August this year. Although during the induction we had practiced running with someone who is blind, we were really just practising with a partner wearing a blindfold (and for me it was easier as I was with my sister so there was already a lot of trust between us.) At this event I was paired up with a visually impaired girl, around my age, called Charmaine. I was initially nervous and a bit frightened at having been given such a big responsibility as I hadn’t done this before but as we began talking and walking around the track I loosened up a bit- it was naive of me to think I would need to ‘control’ Charmaine. In fact I was merely there to assist by her side and we were both completing the course together.
Vital to us having an effective partnership was good communication from both of us which definitely improved as we progressed throughout the run. I sometimes struggle to express things clearly and concisely but this was very important in this situation and so I made a deliberate effort to speak clearly and make quick decisions (e.g which side to move to if someone was coming towards us, if we needed to suddenly stop because there were too many people in front etc…). Even in just an hour and half we were already much more comfortable with each other and it became more natural for me to share details about the things around us (both possible dangers and also descriptions of the scenery so that she could also enjoy the beauty of the park -like the apple tree she wanted to take a picture with. I was honoured to be given the privilege of accompanying Charmaine on the run and seeing so many people come together for such a special event!
#LO1
Running Hour update
Last week there was a change in the format because our usual ‘leaders’/managers are not here anymore so I’m intrigued to see what happens with Running Hour in the coming sessions. Rather than running with individual buddies, we were supposed to be running as groups based on pace but that didn’t end up happening so I was running with a buddy who I hadn’t run with before called Kwee Boon. He was an elderly man with visual impairments and even though I was a bit more comfortable after having done Run for Inclusion, I still made sure to ask my buddy to give me feedback or let me know if I should be doing something different. This was one of my favourite runs because we chatted the whole time and he was such an interesting man. He told me about his travels in India from before he was married, what type of food we like, and he also empathised with me about the struggles of IB as his sons did it too! I was inspired by all the things he does even at his age and he doesn’t let his visual impairment stop him from trying new things and pushing himself. He does ballroom dancing with his wife and is going to start bowling soon!
It made me realise that sometimes I’m so conscious of the fact that my buddy has a visual or mental impairment and I want to help them continue the run – but that doesn’t mean I can’t engage in conversation with them normally because they are extremely capable. I need to remember to give them the dignity and autonomy they deserve whilst running. (LO7) For example, sometimes it’s easier for me to completely be in charge and get them to continue running by pulling them along with their towel (which some of them prefer), however I’ve understood that this may be more of a last resort, and I should put in the effort to other ways to motivate them. I don’t always take the initiative to start a conversation which is something I want to try and improve because this should be a partnership
