My name is Randall Crosby, founder of Team BlindRunner. I have been legally blind since the age of 27 (I’m 48 years young now)In early 2006 I became totally blind after years of nightblindness and gradual loss to my peripheral vision which are symptoms of my condition known as Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). I have always maintained a positive attitude toward life in spite of the challenges of being blind so I told myself years ago that the more blind I become the more I will try to grow and challenge myself to overcome the obstacles. I like to tell my friends that I focus on what I can do and not on what I can’t do, after all we all have limitations. As I continually lost my vision over a period of years I went through set backs along the way in trying to deal with the frustration of this vision loss and when I finally lost all my vision toatally it was a reality check for me as I felt like I had reached the bottome and I could only go up from here. On October 15, 2006 my friend Gabe –George Gabrielle- challenged and encouraged me to run a 5K race with him as my guide, it would be my first race since my high school days when I had sight. It was scary to do this as a blind person but I crossed the finish line in a time of 37:36 and got hooked on the excitement and challenge of the 5K races. Since that first 5K I have competed in twenty six events which include two 10K’s , two half marathons and most recently my first triathlon with my friend and guide Chaz Wendling. When I look back on the past three years I’m amazed at what I’ve been able to do as a blind person but it’s only happened through the help of my good friends like Gabe and Chaz and by the grace of God. I really believe that life is too short and we should make it an adventure!
