Wellesley's Spillane Serves as Guide for Visually Impaired Marathon Runner
Wellesley College crew coach, Tessa Spillane will serve as a host for a visually impaired runner during Monday's Boston Marathon. The following story appeared on the Wellesley College Public Affairs website at: http://web.wellesley.edu/web/detailview.psml?rcFilePath=/content/departments/publicaffairs/news/041511marathon.xml
Wellesley Students Serve as Guide Runners to Visually Impaired Marathoner
April 15, 2011
Charlie Plaskon has run the Boston Marathon three times before, but the 2011 race will be particularly special for the 67-year-old athlete who has been legally blind all his life.
Having been motivated in each previous race by Wellesley's "Scream Tunnel"—the insanely loud Wellesley College cheering section along Central Street just before the halfway point of the Marathon—he will take a little of that Wellesley spirit with him the whole 26.2 miles this year. Plaskon reached out to Wellesley College Disability Services Director Jim Wice to find out whether anyone from the Wellesley College community would be interested in running with him as a guide runner, the typical practice for visually impaired competitors.
Charlie Plaskon was diagnosed with macular dystrophy (Stargardt's disease) in first grade. Although his limited eyesight continued deteriorating, he earned a bachelor's and two master's degrees, raised a family, and was a classroom teacher for 32 years. Shortly after retiring 12 years ago he took up running and was soon racing marathons, and then triathlons, including the Ironman Triathlon in Hawai'i. He is now also a frequent speaker for corporate and educational groups.
Wice posted a notice on the College's online bulletin board. Within an hour, he had one volunteer; another hour, another volunteer. Within a day or two, 11 students and one faculty member had signed on to join Plaskon in his five-hour marathon pace for all or part of the race.
In the past Plaskon has run with his son or a friend as a guide. During a race, a guide runner is tethered to the competitor to keep from getting separated. Guides act as the eyes for the racer, warning them verbally or with a steadying hand on the elbow when the road surface is uneven, when obstacles or traffic congestion could trip him up, and where feed and drink stations are. The Boston Marathon requires four guide runners to register with a visually impaired racer. Wellesley's additional runners will be a support team for him and each other since they are all new to guide running.
Plaskon inquired about guides at Wellesley College first, he says, because of his love for the Scream Tunnel. "That sound is tremendously reassuring," he recalls. "Especially for someone who can't see. You can hear it well before you get there, and for miles after." Expecting perhaps one or two on-campus marathoners to take up his offer, he was overwhelmed by the response from Wellesley. "The Wellesley women knew zero about me except that I was a person in need, and they found it in their hearts and their busy schedules to immediately volunteer, without asking about the difficulty," says Plaskon, adding: "That shows a tremendous overall personality that the rest of the world could use a piece of."
Wellesley participants include:
- Alice Fong '12
- Natasha Geiling '13
- Maisie Hall '11
- Chanelle Lansley '12
- Grace Mandel '12
- Vivian Secaida '11
- Roxanne Solis '11
- Tessa Spillane, head crew coach
- Leslie Stephens '14
- Ana Thayer '12
- Alexa Williams '14
- Chloe Zimmerer '14
Senior Vivian Secaida and junior Chanelle Lansley plan to run the whole course with Plaskon; others will run half marathons or shorter distances. Several of the Wellesley volunteers have run marathons before, just not here. Running Boston was an attraction to the volunteers, but running with Plaskon pushed them to action.
First-year Chloe Zimmerer has raced the Memphis and Nashville marathons, and remarks how Boston is legendary among runners in her home state of Tennessee. "I knew this was one of those opportunities unique to Wellesley, thanks to its amazing reputation," she says. Not only does she get to run in a marathon that's very hard to qualify for, she gets to "help out a truly inspirational fellow runner."
Similarly, Tessa Spillane, head crew coach at Wellesley, welcomes a chance to participate in the Boston Marathon—usually an impossibility as it falls right in the middle of rowing season when she can't devote the time to training for the full length. But more than that, she says, "It just seemed like an awesome opportunity to work with an athlete who inspires others every day."
Senior Roxanne Solis, who will run the seven miles leading into Wellesley with Plaskon, says, "I signed up to run with Charlie primarily because he reminds me of my Dad, who has been disabled since I was 11. Like Charlie he has chosen to live life to the fullest despite his disability. His strength and courage inspire me every day." Solis has never run a marathon, but has been part of the Scream Tunnel for the past three years.
For Charlie Plaskon and a dozen women from Wellesley College, the Boston Marathon is a big win, whatever their finishing time. Says Plaskon, "Sometimes somebody needs a reason to get up and do something. I just happen to be the reason. I wind up being a tremendous winner, but they tell me they are the real winners."
A post-Marathon talk and reception will be held on April 20 at 7:00 pm at Wellesley in Clapp Library (3rd floor) with Charlie Plaskon and his Wellesley guide runners. His lecture is called "A Different Kind of Vision."
Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 68 countries.