Marathon Guides Are Giving Athletes of All Abilities the Chance to Run on Equal Footing ...Middle East

On a Saturday in 2016, Brooke Ely Danielson was running through Central Park, while training for her first-ever New York City Marathon. This particular course had become routine - but on this day, she noticed some people wearing neon yellow shirts that read "blind runner" or "deaf runner" or "guide." They were running in pairs, tethered or untethered, depending on the athlete's disability.

After seeing the group in the park over the next few weekends, she did some research and found out they were part of Achilles International, an organization that supports people with disabilities through athletic programs and social connection - and one of those programs is marathon guiding, or assisting a runner with a disability complete a marathon.

"I applied there on the spot," says Ely Danielson.

Becoming a Marathon Guide

After joining Achilles, Ely Danielson - a wellness influencer and writer - began working with a few different athletes, mainly for shorter races. At first, it was nerve-wracking, since she felt an immense responsibility to keep someone else safe. "As a guide, depending on the disability, it's really about having a clear conversation with the person that you're guiding about what they need, what makes them feel safe, and what's the best approach that works for them. It's important to be present in the moment, because you really need to be there for your athlete to help them achieve their goal," she says.

Through the organization, she met Melissa - who is a visually impaired athlete - and the two immediately hit it off. Soon, they were preparing to run a marathon together (and have since run several in tandem, including the upcoming 2025 London Marathon). "Training with Mel is a great life lesson in what it means to just be happy and laugh. It's always a blast, we're just two girlfriends chatting," says Ely Danielson. "We try to make our runs really fun. When we lived close to each other, we had a tradition where we met in Jersey and ran up the coastline, talking about everything from fashion to work to what's going on in our lives. Now we live on two different coasts, we text each other to check in leading up to a marathon, and I follow her training block on my own out on the West Coast while she trains with other local guides."

For Leah Cunningham, a Nike Community Pacer and Achilles Guide based in New York City, her first marathon was less of a gradual progression, and more like a steep incline. She only started running a few years ago, right after the pandemic - prior to which she was teaching ballet to children with disabilities. "When I started running and I heard about Achilles and the fact that there's both the adult chapter as well as a kid's chapter, I thought: this is very much in my wheelhouse. I would love to continue my own running journey as well as help someone else with theirs." She started attending the weekly workouts in NYC, primarily working with kids on shorter races.

Then, in 2024, she received an email from Achilles stating a number of international athletes would be arriving in New York for the marathon - they were bringing their own guides, but also looking to connect with local guides. "I am notoriously not someone who ever strived to do a marathon. I'm very much a half-marathon kind of gal. But I've always said that if Achilles asked, I would 100 percent say yes," says Cunningham. With only eight weeks before the marathon, her training time was limited - but after confirming with her coach that it would be safe to do so, she immediately signed on and was paired with an athlete from Ecuador. "The training process was honestly quite nerve-wracking, but also really motivating in the sense that I knew this athlete was depending on me. He is a fully blind athlete, so he uses what we call a tether, which is basically like a piece of material or rope to have in his hand, with the other end in my hand - luckily, I had plenty of experience with this, after working with other blind athletes in the past. But we had the disadvantage that he only speaks Spanish, and I only speak English or French, so there was a language barrier," she says.

They had never run together until the moment the cannon went off and they started the marathon, but she knew his goal time. All of her experience as a Nike community pacer came into play, as she did her best to steady his pace. As a precaution for the race, Cunningham had cut up one of her Achilles shirts and wrote "blind athlete" on it, and pinned it to his shirt, so the other runners would know to give him more space in the race.

Despite this being the first time they'd ever run together, the race was a success. "When we got across that finish line, we had just spent five hours together, and he actually hit a 10-minute marathon PR. I felt him struggle for that entire last 10k, but he really pushed through. He was wearing his name on his bib and people were screaming and cheering for him - it was truly a testament to how incredible the running community and sport can be for anyone."

Victor Camara, a marathoner and Ironman competitor based in Southern California, was also called to support his running community - literally. With just four days' notice before the 2021 LA Marathon, he received a call from McCourt Foundation, asking if he'd be willing to guide an athlete named Romario, who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The previous year, Romario's guide had been injured mid-race and couldn't finish the marathon. "So Romario went all the way, finished the marathon, but he didn't stop, he kept going," says Camara. Romario got confused and ended up lost in downtown LA. His mother was looking for him, the police department was looking for him for three full days. Eventually, one of the sheriffs found him - safe, but very hungry - and contacted his family.

Image Source: Victor Camara

After hearing Romario's story, Camara was eager to help. He was currently training for his first Ironman race, so a marathon felt feasible. "At the marathon Expo on Saturday, I met his mother, his grandmother, and his twin sisters. They all wanted to talk to me, tell me Romario's story, explain how he likes to do things in his own way, and make sure I knew I really needed to watch him - because they were afraid of him getting lost again," he says. Camara also learned that Romario carries an old iPod with him at every race, and that he makes YouTube videos of his experience during the marathon.

The pair met early on Sunday morning, ahead of what would be Romario's seventh Los Angeles Marathon. "Then we started running, and he went super fast right away. In the beginning, he got kind of mad because I was trying to get him to slow down and not burn out, but he didn't want me to tell him what to do. We were like that for 10 miles, fighting back and forth, until he got super tired. He told me to call his mother, saying that he didn't want to run anymore - so I called his mother, and told her to go to the finish line and wait for us there, because we were not quitting. This was his seventh marathon, I knew he could push through because he had done that before, so we did a bit of a run-walk until we made it to the finish," says Camara. "He was super happy at the end. And said, yeah I'm bringing you back next year." Together, they've now run four marathons - and Romario just ran his 10th LA Marathon in March 2025.

"What's really cool about him is his whole life is for the LA Marathon, like he waits the whole year to run the marathon," says Camara. "He wants to do it every year, and his family does anything they can to make that happen."

How Does Guide Training Differ from Individual Training?

"I think everyone's experience probably differs, but the way that I've approached it over the last nine years is to have a very solid training block," says Ely Danielson. "I usually ask the athlete what their goal is and what their training plan is, and have them share it with me so I can see what they're doing. I also never run with someone who's my pace or faster. I always try to pair with an athlete who runs a bit slower on average, just so that I feel over-prepared on race day."

Locking in the proper pacing is key, explains Cunningham. "One of the biggest things that I personally had to train for was slowing down to [my athlete's] speed, because a lot of it was going to be time-on-feet, running a five-hour marathon," she says. "I was doing all of my long runs, it was at what [my athlete's] pace would be, and it was really just training my body to go at that speed."

The requirements go beyond physical as well, because there's a lot of cognitive load that comes with marathon guiding. "It is very challenging to keep track of everything he wants to do during the run, for five hours straight," says Camara, noting that you're constantly monitoring the other runners around you and making sure your athlete stays safe. That said, it does get easier and more intuitive over time: "The first year, I was still learning how to read him and his reactions and his way of doing things. By the second year, we were getting along much better."

Camara adds that while training and racing as a guide is significantly different than approaching it solo, he loves getting to experience the race in an entirely new way. "[Athletes with disabilities] start 30 minutes before everybody, so we have the empty course for us, which is nice. Then when we get to mile three or four, we see the elite woman coming, and they pass us. After another 15 minutes, the elite men run by us. And then I get to see all my friends go by, and they cheer us on. Since we're going at a slower pace, I get to see everybody I know, and we're all having a good time. So this is a rewarding part, because I would never see a marathon that way, if I'm just running for myself."

The Wonder of Being a Guide

"Even through the pain of a marathon, there's so much joy at the end," says Ely Danielson, and that sentiment especially rings true for the experience of guides. "The most rewarding part is just being a part of your athlete's race day, knowing that they are happy and safe and they just accomplished something they set out to achieve."

It's a selfless act, one that requires leaving your ego at home - after all, it's not your race, it's theirs. Still, while a marathon guide is about showing up for another athlete and helping them meet their goals, that doesn't mean it doesn't come with its own rewards.

Camara says that working with Romario taught him all about resilience, and to keep going no matter what - which has encouraged him with his own training, as well. What's more, he notes how important it is to realize that disabilities show up in a wide range of ways, and not all of them are immediately apparent.

Organizations like Achilles also shine a light on an important fact: athletes with disabilities are "some of the most accomplished and strong athletes on the planet, and they do not let any adversity really stand in their way," says Ely Danielson. "I'm blown away by the continued goal setting and adventure seeking that many of the Achilles International group athletes do, from ice climbing to triathlons, and beyond. It's so impressive that it makes me want to push myself in a healthy way, to do better, be better, and seek more adventure."

In fact, Cunningham encourages more runners to make an effort to get to know athletes in the disability community. "If you were to stop and talk to any of them, they have some of the most inspiring stories that you will hear all day or all week," she says. Plus, something as simple as "taking the time to shout 'Go Achilles!' or congratulating them after makes all the difference in the world. I think acknowledging their effort is huge and such a small thing that all of us could do more."

And, if you are interested in becoming a guide yourself, there's information available through organizations like Achilles International, the McCourt Foundation, or even the Athletes With Disabilities (AWD) department for any marathon.

"Don't be afraid to sign up and show up and give it a go," says Danielson. "Jump in with an open mind, an open heart, and lots of excitement, because it's an incredible community. You just might surprise yourself. And there's no greater joy than helping someone accomplish their goals."

Kristine Thomason is a lifestyle writer and editor based in Southern California. Previously, she was the health and fitness director at mindbodygreen, and the fitness and wellness editor at Women's Health. Kristine's work has also appeared in PS, Travel + Leisure, Men's Health, Health, and Refinery29, among others.

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