Visually impaired runner completes half marathon

How many people complete a half marathon on their first go? Not many. Akinath Khedekar, a visually impaired, fought fatigue and cramps to finish the half marathon. Though he finished way down the order, he was quite ecstatic.

“At the 14-km mark I was pretty tired; I pulled a calf muscle. But Vikas Dubey (his escort) pushed me to finish the race. People were cheering me throughout the route, that was motivational as well,” says, Khedekar.

Inspired by his friend Jatin Shah, also visually impaired and who had competed in last year’s marathon, Khedekar, decided to run this year. Shah (who did not take part this year) introduced Dubey to Khedekar. “I had assisted Shah, last year and we were going to compete this time around as well. As Shah was not able to compete, I decided to help Khedekar,” said Dubey.

Dubey’s experience of running with Shah helped Khedekar this time around. Dubey, who has competed twice in the race, says, “Completing a race is not a problem but competing is. Khedekar was not used to running such a long distance at a stretch, so it was a commendable effort.”

He was not blind right from his childhood; he started losing his eyesight when he was in fifth standard. He completely lost his eyesight in 2000. But that didn’t deter him and he kept following his passion — sports. He is currently pursuing TYBA (economics) from St Xavier’s College.