Safely on the move in a tandem – “Even blind people can jog” – News

Beatrice Acuña goes jogging twice a week. She is dependent on the accompaniment of a guide for the blind.

“Here comes a bump, now lift your feet well” – René Scheidegger keeps commenting on what’s coming next. Be it a root in the forest floor, a hanging branch, an oncoming dog or a change of direction. His jogging partner Beatrice Acuña relies on clear announcements. The 62-year-old is completely blind.

Beatrice Acuña and René Scheidegger are linked by a black ribbon. So they have their hands close together. They swing their arms synchronously and walk in step. “I start with the left leg, my partner with the right,” says Acuña. “So we jog together at the same pace.” Exercising is good for her. “It’s a good balance for me.”

She never used to go jogging, says Beatrice Acuña. Thanks to blind jogging, she was able to start seven years ago. The non-profit association brings sighted guides and blind or partially sighted people together. Beatrice Acuña jogs with four different guides – twice a week on average.

Friendships were also formed in the process. Every week she is curious to see what is happening in the lives of her guides, says Acuña, who is also involved in the association as president of the Zurich section.

Legend:

Guide and blind person are connected by a band. They swing their arms synchronously and walk in step.

SRF/Damian Grunow

Mutual trust is the be-all and end-all, both say. The blind or visually impaired person must be able to rely one hundred percent on their guide. ‘You can’t really hurt yourself. But if she touches something on her body, she gets a fright,” says guide René Scheidegger, who took early retirement and started blind jogging seven years ago.

“I almost wet my pants on my first jogging tour with a blind person.” But you don’t have to be afraid, says the now experienced guide. You get used to it quickly.

More than just sports

Around 170 guides and blind or visually impaired people are active in the “Blind Jogging” association throughout Switzerland. According to Beatrice Acuña, there should be more. Above all, she wants to motivate blind and visually impaired people to try blind jogging.

Blind jogging is not only fun for me, but also for my guide.

For her it is more than sport. It’s also about visibility: “Blind people can jog, too. People see that we have fun together. Blind jogging is not only fun for me, but also for my guide.»