Retinitus Pigmentosa, Friendship & the Boston Marathon
An old friend contacted me recently, to see if I could share a story. She sent along a video and a link to an article and I promised that I would have a look.
When I had a moment, I opened the links. I read. I watched.
I cried.
I have never, ever come across a story with more spirit of true friendship than this. My eyes became salty pools, and even later as I tried to recount the story to DaddyO, I could not stop the tears. Don't get me wrong, I am not crying out of pity. Let's be clear on that. I cry because this story has all those little nooks and crannies that HOPES and DREAMS are made of.
So... let me tell you the story.
A man, born with a degenerative eye disease called Retinitus Pigmentosa, runs really fast. He loves to run and has done so passionately, for 26 years. At 45, he is a top finisher in most races he enters. He is legally blind, but still manages to tick off the kilometres speedily.
Because he is so fast, he can actually qualify for the Boston Marathon. You know, the marathon of ALL marathons.
And instead of qualifying with a 'handicapped time' (due to his blindness), Ary Tsotras will qualify in the same amount of time as a man of 45yrs with no 'handicap'. AMAZING
While this story could so easily be about Tsotras heading to the Boston Marathon, the story instead becomes one built on friendship.
You see, there's this other guy. His name is Boyd Dunleavey.
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| Boydster & Ary |
Boyd and Ary are training partners. In 2011, Boyd was struck with leukemia and later had a stem-cell transplant. He lives with neuropathic pain daily, but through meds and a new found love for running, Boyd ticks off his own kilometres.
This is where the story totally makes you want to HUG PEOPLE!
Ary, being legally blind, could run with any partner of his choosing at the Boston Marathon as an aide. Ary, could also complete the marathon with an impressive time. But instead, he chooses Boyd.
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| Training, Training, Training! |
Boyd couldn't qualify to run the Boston Marathon at this point in his running career, but Ary will make sure that Boyd has the best darn race possible!
They will do it TOGETHER.
To learn more about Team Ary and Boydster, you can view their video here:
To GO FUND THEM, Donate here:
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