Run Britain – News – Opportunity to run at London 2012

As part of its service to athletes with a visual impairment who are competing for visiting teams, but who are not able to provide their own guide runner to run alongside them, the 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is looking to recruit a small number of top level athletes across both sprints and endurance events. Guides will be needed for both men and women athletes.

If you haven't watched Paralympic athletics before, athletes with a visual impairment may run with a guide runner who not only helps them to run within their lane, but must also be able to run at the correct pace throughout the race. They are literally part of a team, in that, if the guide breaks the rules (false start, cutting lane lines etc) the athlete is disqualified.

The standard is very high, so you need to be able to run close to Olympic qualification. At the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, guides were provided for the three Nigerian visually impaired sprinters who were all capable of better than 11 seconds for the 100 metres, so that gives an idea of the standard required.

At this early stage, we don't know how many guides are needed, but the aim is to build a pool of around twenty athletes who are available during the Paralympic Games (August 29th to September 9th), some of whom may be linked to their athlete in advance. If possible, it would be useful for the athlete and guide to train together for a few days before the competition starts.

If you would like to be involved, or would like more information, please email the Athletics Paralympics Manager on chris.cohen@london2012.com

Run Britain – News