I was reading blindgal’s blog yesterday and came across the story of a blind fifth grader running unassisted.

Thanks to a guide rope that is attached to a pole in the centre of the track, holding onto the rope allows Hunter Hall to run unassisted.

This is a simple idea and one I have had in the past. If I ever have the opportunity to have my own running track you can be sure I will have such a setup.

After reading this story I figured I would give an unassisted run a shot.

In the fields behind my house there are two football pitches that run back to back. I figured if I set myself in the centre of one of the posts and ran I should be able to achieve around 200m without running into anything. So with the aid of Nike+ to give me audio distances feedback, I went for it.

To make things even more interesting I decided to make the run todays Crossfit WOD.

Four Rounds
400m Run
50 Squats

After a few mishaps with Nike+ the first two runs went real well. Powering through the squats onto my third run I coughed out huge amounts of phlegm, I could feel the wall rapidly approaching. Thankfully I had just reached the 400m, time for some more squats.

The last run saw an incredibly reduced pace and the last set of squats I had to break into two 25’s. I managed to finish with a time of 15:08. I could easily achieve a sub 12 with a guide runner as I would of been far more confident and really gone for it on the runs.

But I got out there and did it unassisted so a win regardless!