A blind punk band frontman is set to run the London Marathon to raise money for a UK sight loss charity.
Phil Harrison, 69, from Paignton, in Devon, will run the route alongside his guide runner, Dr Julia Tysoe. Harrison, who is part of punk band Social Security, said he lost his sight in his left eye due to an injury during a “feisty rounders tournament” in his teenager years.
He later lost sight in his right eye following a cancer diagnosis when he was 60 years old.
“I feel good, I’ve been doing the training,” he said. “I feel it’s a real privilege to actually be part of something that’s really amazing and positive, [I’m] really looking forward to it.”
Harrison compared his vision to a kaleidoscope, and said “it’s a bit like looking at a mirror that’s been shattered”.
He said he used to run solo, but kept falling over when his sight loss “really got bad”.
“It shattered my confidence a bit.”
He said he later got in touch with a guide runner who helped him get his confidence back.
Harrison is raising money for the UK sight loss charity, the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
Harrison’s guide runner, Tysoe, said it was a “privilege and a pleasure” to do the marathon.
“It will be hugely rewarding, I was delighted when he asked me,” she said.
“I think the biggest challenge for this London Marathon is going to be being absolutely focused for the full distance.
“We’ve done a couple of half marathons together.
“I’m just hoping we’ve got the muscle memory and the distance in the legs.”
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