How Achilles Adelaide is transforming the lives of South Australia’s vision-impaired runners

A revolutionary Adelaide program has shattered expectations by helping blind athletes achieve the impossible, writes Jess Adamson.

South Australia’s first chapter of Achilles International participating in a run at Glenelg. Susan Wilson, Simon Wong and Bruna Lanzoni. Picture: Supplied

Amid the chaos of Glenelg’s Jetty Road transformation, the dust, the noise and the economic uncertainty, something extraordinary is going almost unnoticed.

If you happened to be there on a Saturday morning in recent months, you might have spotted a sea of yellow T-shirts.

If you looked closely, you may have observed the excited participants in this group were wearing bibs, some marked “Athlete”, the others marked “Guide”.

And if you’d watched them move off from Glenelg’s rotunda, headed for the Esplanade, you’d see the guides are gently tethered to the athlete with a piece of elastic.

The athletes are vision impaired or blind. The guides are volunteers who give up their time each week to run or walk with the athletes, ensuring they can exercise safely.

Emma Bruce, Pelgrina Ndumba and Megan Ing take a stroll along the esplanade. Picture: Supplied

This is South Australia’s first chapter of Achilles International, a global movement which transforms the lives of people with disabilities through exercise and social connection.

It was founded in Adelaide earlier this year by mother of three and business professional Justine Crawford, and it’s one of the most wholesome things I’ve ever seen.

I’m sorry to say I’d never thought through the challenges that vision impaired South Australians face when it comes to simply going for a walk or a run.

Most of us step out the door when we feel like it and get it done – a few quick kilometres, enough to the endorphins running, or a quick park walk with the dog.

Some vision-impaired people can navigate their way using a cane, but anything at pace is risky as they encounter bollards, potholes, road works, traffic and much more.

I walked with Achilles Adelaide a couple of Saturdays ago and met the delightful athletes and guides who’ve become the close knit “yellow shirt family.”

Among them is 59-year-old Simon Wong who lost 99 per cent of his vision at the age of seven.

“I found that all of a sudden in grade 3, I couldn’t find my way back from the toilets,” Simon says.

Achilles founder and President Justine Crawford, Angela Evans, Rosey Batt, Pelgrina Ndumba, Megan Ing and Asta McCormack. Picture: Supplied

“I was starting to run into doors and windows.”

Simon lives with Optic Atrophy, but as a child in Vietnam with limited medical support, it went undiagnosed until he came to Australia with his family as a refugee, six years later.

Since then, he’s lost all his sight.

“In the last few years, the light perception faded away so I’m completely blind,” he says.

“When I became totally blind, I thought I’d never be able to run again and walking became hard work.”

Until he heard about Achilles Adelaide. Now Simon is a regular at the Saturday meets, happily running several kilometres each time.

“I feel so grateful for the opportunity to be able to do this with the support of lovely, kind people,” he says.

“It has a really great normalising benefit.”

As the volunteers are trained, they’re blindfolded to experience first-hand the challenges that vision impaired people face.

While the tether does help the athletes swing their arms freely while running, some walkers prefer to go without, instead relying on a gentle guiding hand.

As they make their way along the Esplanade, the athletes recognise familiar landmarks by feel, like roundabouts, the boardwalk and any inclines.

They take in the sounds of the sea, of children playing by the beach, the smell of coffee from the popular Broadway Cafe and the conversations of those passing by.

What they can’t take in is the reaction of those walking or running towards them.

It’s a powerful moment as others pounding the pavement see the yellow shirts, notice the tether or guiding hand and realise this is a beautiful act of kindness in a world that’s often moving so quickly, we forget those less able.

Guide Katherine Thrussel, athlete Cassie Hames and guide Serin Halliday. Picture: Supplied

36-year-old Cassie Haymes knows how isolating vision impairment can be, she started to lose her sight in high school.

It began with double vision, got progressively worse and when all her friends got their drivers licenses, Cassie couldn’t.

She was the first to sign up to Achilles Adelaide and says it’s been life-changing.

“To be able to go out each week for a run and walk, not to have to use my cane, I think it’s hard to put into words how great that is,” she says.

“It’s given me the opportunity to participate in events that I was always on the sidelines for.”

With the help of Achilles’ guides, Cassie completed the City-Bay half marathon this year and will attempt a full marathon in Ballarat early next year.

As a software programmer, she’s gone one step further in a bid to make life easier

for those who find it difficult to use public transport.

Cassie says it can become “too hard” to go out for visually impaired people – they can’t see when their bus is coming, struggle to find a seat and aren’t sure where to get off.

She’s created the See Me app, allowing users to digitally hail a bus and receive notifications about stops, reducing anxiety and making travel easier.

“I’ve been daydreaming about it for 18 years and working on it for the last 3 years,” Cassie says.

“You get a notification that the bus is approaching, it lets you know how many metres away the bus is.

“The bus driver gets a notification, and it can ring the on-board bus bell to get off.”

The app has been trialled across the country, has won an international award, and Cassie hopes it will soon be rolled out in SA.

Guides Danielle and Muzz with athlete Johnny Huang, who is planning on taking on the London marathon. Picture: Supplied

Like Cassie, fellow athlete Johnny Huang who has both impaired vision and hearing, also completed the City-Bay half marathon.

He wasn’t a runner when he joined Achilles nine months ago, now he’s registered for the famous London Marathon in April.

“I’ve never been to Europe before so I’m very excited,” Johnny says.

Imagine travelling halfway across the world to run with 50,000 others when you can’t

see the road ahead.

It is an enormous leap of faith and Johnny says the trust he has in Danielle and Che, two volunteer guides travelling with him, is key.

“Running a marathon for the first time, and it’s a major marathon, it’s like a dream come true,” Johnny says.

“I haven’t had a big goal before so this one I think is one of the biggest goals in my entire life.”

This special group, including Johnny, Simon, Cassie and their guides, don’t see disability as a barrier.

Side-by-side, they are redefining inclusion one step at a time, an inspiration to us all.

Originally published as How Achilles Adelaide is transforming the lives of South Australia’s vision-impaired runners