'When we run it feels like I can see again' Half marathon challenge for blind Stuart.

Byline: Echo Reporter

LOSING his sight will not stop Stuart Ball taking part in the Cardiff Half Marathon this weekend.

The student disability assessor at Uwic has already taken part in last month's HSBC Cardiff 10k since teaming up with friend and colleague David Hardacre.

Now he and David, his guide runner, are looking forward to their next challenge of completing Barnardo's Cymru's half marathon on Sunday.

"When we're running together it feels like I can see once more and it's highly addictive," said Stuart, 31, from Tonypandy, who lost his sight when he was 19.

"When I'm running I'm free from any disability and I give sighted people a run for their money. Dave said to me we couldn't train in the evenings now as it was too dark, which I thought was a classic.

"Some people aren't able to run so it should not be taken for granted and Dave and I will continue running together after this event."

David, from Cardiff, approached Stuart with the idea of running to raise money for the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity even though Stuart had never run competitively before. "While heading for a coffee one day, I spotted Stuart stood outside having a break with guide dog Yardley," said David, 45, who works in multi media support for Uwic.

"I introduced myself and explained my plan and asked would he and Yardley like to run the 10K with me and raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. He paused, raised and offered his hand and a deal was made."

Since then the pair have trained regularly - though Yardley does not join in after regular attempts to take him training ended with him wanting his tummy tickled or needing the toilet every time the trio went out.

"We run with a lightweight strap attached to us both that I can control to let Stuart know if their are any hazards, but in essence he's running free.

"We finished the 10k 20 minutes faster than estimated and after Stuart told me he was well and truly hooked on running."

Around pounds 40,000 is needed to keep a guide dog during its lifetime.

Stuart and David have raised around pounds 3,000 for the charity which has been breeding and training guide dogs for more than 75 years.

To sponsor Stuart and David visit www.justgiving.com/davestuartcardiffhalf/

CAPTION(S):

Stuart Ball, who is blind, and who will be running the Cardiff Half Marathon with guide runner David Hardacre