Conquering disability: How one visually impaired runner will race Ottawa to qualify for Boston

Imagine running a marathon with very little idea of what is in front of you and having to rely on a guide to take you throughout the course. During the 2016 Ottawa Marathon, Darrell Furgoch, a visually impaired runner, will run with his guide Doug Duff.

Furgoch, 60, is a married father of of three girls from Pembroke, Ont. He’s also a visually impaired runner (like this man who has done 16 marathons including one Boston) and was registered with the Canadian National Institute of the Blind (CNIB) in 1989. He started running six years ago and in 2006 to 2009, he walked the Ottawa Half-Marathon to raise money for Choroideremia (CHM) an eye disease that results in the loss of peripheral vision, which leads to tunnel vision and eventually complete blindness.

“I took up running in 2009. I got caught up in the euphoria and general awesomeness of running and I haven’t stopped,” says Furgoch. “Last year, I logged 2,127 kilometres in training, including a couple marathons. I became a member of Achilles Canada, Running Beyond Disabilities, in 2010.”

Since then, he has done seven half-marathons and three full.

His guide, Doug Duff is a 33-year old married new father with another due any day. He’s among the runners who have found their place in the racing scene by guiding those with visual impairment. When not out running in Ottawa, Duff works as a software sales professional just outside of the city. He has been running since childhood– or for as long as he can remember, he says.

“I started probably as a way to get out of class and fell in love with the aspect of constantly challenging yourself to be better than you were the last time out,” he says. “I didn’t really become super serious about running until I was finished with school completely and that’s where all of my best times have come.” Duff adds that he wishes he always was this passionate for the lifestyle. He acknowledges that he was always naturally fast but didn’t put in the hard work when he was young. “Running for me has grown into more of a personal reflection period and a way to decompress mentally.” (He has accumulated times of 49.3 for the 400m, 1:52 for the 800m and has run also run a marathon in 2:51.)

The two runners met through a Program called Achilles Canada in 2013. Duff answered a tweet from Achilles looking for guide runners for the Army Half-Marathon. He and was teamed up with Furgoch. Duff was looking for something different and motivation to keep running after he started getting older and felt less fast and found the personal bests harder to chase. He was Furgoch’s first guide runner and the two finished the Army Run in Ottawa.

“There is no way I could have done the run on my own. That is what I will be depending on Doug for. With my tunnel vision, I have to concentrate and focus straight ahead. Running with so many people is extremely hard,” says Furgoch.

The 2016 Ottawa Marathon is at the end of May and the two hope to come in under four hours. Furgoch has also qualified for the 2017 Boston marathon (as a visually impaired athlete) but wants to qualify also as an able-bodied runner. For that, the standard is 3:55:00 standard.

Again, the runner will race to raise money and awareness for Choroideremia.

You can also catch Noel on Twitter @NoelPaine or on his personal blog No Paine, No Gain.