“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”             Spencer Johnson

November 3, 2002 – Staten Island, New York: Marla Runyan stood at the start of the 33rd New York City Marathon on a chilly Sunday morning. The 33-year-old runner was participating in her first marathon with an ambitious goal of finishing in 2 hours and 45 minutes. She had been training for months, sometimes running 100 miles a week.

To better imagine Marla’s perspective on the challenge before her that morning, smear a thick application of Vaseline on your eyes. Then, try finding your way as you run through New York City’s five boroughs, hoping to finish the 26.2-mile marathon course in under three hours without hailing a cab or jumping on the subway.

Marla beat her goal, finishing the course in 2 hours 17 minutes. She was the 5th fastest woman in the field of 30,000 runners and she broke the record for the fastest American woman to ever run the New York City Marathon. It was just another incredible accomplishment in Marla Runyon’s extraordinary story.

She grew up in Santa Maria, California. When she was in the 4th grade, her teacher sent a note home to her mother. “Marla is having difficulty seeing the blackboard. I think she needs glasses.” During her exam, Marla could only read the big E on the chart. Her vision was 20/200. She was legally blind.

It took more than a year before a specialist diagnosed Marla with Stargardt’s Disease, a juvenile form of macular degeneration. The damage to her retinas left her with a hole in the center of her vision and only a sliver of peripheral vision. Marla could see shadows and shapes and by cocking her head she could see the ground.

The doctor warned Marla’s parents, “You should reduce your expectations of Marla. She’s not going to be able to ride her bike, run or play sports like other children. She will struggle in school, probably be a C Student.” Listening to the doctor’s words, Marla became angry. His words became a fire that motivated her to exceed expectations.

There were no excuses in the Runyan house. Marla’s mother bought her a magnifying glass for reading and purchased large print textbooks. Marla was an A student and played sports. In the 9^th grade, she joined the track team. She was a gifted runner and athlete.

When she told her track coach that she wanted to run in the Olympics, he laughed. She told him, “Why not? What do I have to lose? If I don’t try, I will always look back and regret it.” Later, when he watched her run, he saw Marla’s huge potential, not her blindness.

Marla excelled at the 400 meters, 800 meters, shot put, and javelin. In 1987, she won a track scholarship to San Diego State University where she competed in the five-event pentathlon (100 meters, 100-meter hurdles, shot put, javelin, and 800 meters). Her performances were legendary. Marla became a three-time NCAA outdoor track and field national champion and three-time 5K national champion.

She started training for the U.S. Olympic team in 1988 while at San Diego State. That same year, she won the gold in the 1500 meters at the International Paralympic Games in Seoul, Korea and four years later won four gold medals at the Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. But Marla’s dream was to participate in the Olympics.

It took her 12 years, but in 2000, Marla became the first blind athlete to ever participate in the Olympics when she represented the United States in the 1500 meters in Sydney, Australia. She placed 8^th in the world. Four years later at age 35, Marla concluded her competitive running career by participating in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Marla Runyan is the only American to ever compete in the Olympics and Paralympics. She holds Paralympic world records for the 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, high jump, long jump, and pentathlon.

Today, 55-year-old Marla helps her husband coach the track team at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also an ambassador for the Perkins School for the Blind, Helen Keller’s alma mater. “When I became blind, people suddenly expected less of me,” remembers Marla. “I didn’t want that. It created an intense competitiveness that was always inside of me to show people what I could do. I’ve been fighting all my life. Don’t listen to negative influences. Only you can realize your potential.”