MUMBAI:
Mohammed Asif Iqbal
‘s viewpoint is clear. The blind man, who is set to run 21km at
Tata Mumbai Marathon
(TMM) this Sunday, is thankful God gave him the courage to run. “I could’ve wasted away at home, but the Almighty has been kind… I had never imagined I would be able to run, but here I am…” he says.
The Kolkata resident will be flanked by a pair of
buddy runners
as he hits the ground running blindfolded on Sunday.
His running buddies-Mumbai resident Jay Mali and Prakash Singh from Kolkata-will guide Iqbal along the route as they sprint along, steering him in the right direction with just their voices.
It’s not unusual for
visually challenged
persons to participate in races. But what makes Iqbal’s case unique is that he will not be bound by a bandana strapped to his running buddy, as is usually the case. “I’ll run with no strings attached…with no physical assistance,” he says.
But why run blindfolded? Iqbal says his attempt once to get an entry in Limca Book of Records was rejected on the grounds that he had not been blindfolded in line with a rule framed to prevent those with no visual loss from claiming records in the blind category. Ever since then, he has been running blindfolded.
Typically, on Sundays, he runs between 15km and 21km with Singh. “On weekdays, daily office grind keeps us busy,” says an associate director at PwC.
He started running seven years ago, holding the elbow of a sighted person, until a friend advised him to try running without holding hands. “I was jittery at that,” he admits. The honk of a vehicle or the roar of its engine was scary. “Today, I run like a free bird,” he says, adding that this kind of running has earned him a credit in Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records. Iqbal was born with 50% vision.
Iqbal is waiting to get to Mumbai this Friday. Last year, he clocked 3 hours 19 minutes for the half marathon, but this year he has set his sights on finishing it in 2 hours 45 minutes. Next year, he hopes to do the full marathon (42km). “That would be a Guinness World Record,” says Iqbal. “I believe I can do it.”
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