Running is a cheap sport that allows for spontaneity and improvisation, and for many it is much more than a sport – it is a lifestyle.
Many runners start running to lose weight and it ends up becoming an activity they can't do without. It seems that the definitive step is to take part in a fun run – according to many this marks a turning point. Self-improvement, physical exercise, time to reflect, and the chance to form part of something that goes beyond the activity itself, as well as running alongside so many other people who are also running.
As disabled people we are no strangers to trends, and running is a sport that you can practice even on a wheelchair. To do this there are several options:
Participate on your wheelchair
The simplest option is to participate on your wheelchair without any other aids. However, this places the disabled runners at a clear disadvantage with regard to running mates without disabilities.
The other option is to participate with a racing handbike. However, this kind of handbike allows handbikers to reach very high speeds. Most of the times disabled runners start before the rest of the runners, but there are also races where there has been a drastic decision to veto their participation. Disabled runners can also choose to compete with an athletics wheelchair.
Take part with a handbike
Another interesting option is to take part with a BATEC MANUAL or another kind of attaching handbike. Thus, runners with disabilities that participate with BATEC MANUAL do so at a pace that is completely comparable to that of runners without disabilities.
This is the case of José Miguel (Dénia, Spain), who tells us that “the BATEC MANUAL has meant a lot to me”. On the one hand, his health has improved considerably “since I started to train daily three years ago, and now I hardly ever need painkillers for my back pain”. He trains after work and the endorphins this releases means he gets to sleep straightaway every night. But the best part is that “I have completely integrated into the Franc Beneyto Runners athletics club, a great group of marvellous people, where everyone, from elite runners to beginners, all support and motivate each other”.
Though at a much less intense pace than José Miguel, this group of friends (Lleida, Spain) also enjoys fun runs. It is a group of seven BATEC MANUAL users, and they usually take part in three or four fun runs per year. Above all, they want to have fun and enjoy a different, active kind of morning.
There is another kind of race or route that BATEC MANUAL is particularly suited to – the vías verdes, where despite the routes being perfect for wheelchairs, they inevitably have pronounced upwards and downwards slopes, obstacles and narrow turns that a Batec easily overcomes.
This is the case of Rafael and Elena, who have been participating in the Trailwalker organised by Intermón Oxfam. This is a 100 km race run by teams of 4 people for a maximum of 32 hours. The Trailwalker is held in 11 different countries, and it has been held in Spain for the past two years in the Vía Verde between Olot and Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Girona, Spain). Elena and Rafi completed the 2014 race in 18 hours.
Teams to run pushing a person in a wheelchair
Lastly, in the case of severe lesions that prevent a person with disabilities to participate autonomously, tandems are organised, as well as teams in which someone (or several people) without disabilities run pushing their mate in their wheelchair.
This is the case of Team Espada formed by Carlos García Espada, with ALS for the past 5 years, Pedro de San Antonio, his best friend, and Manu Domínguez, his Everis mentor, who have been running together since the Madrid 2012 marathon.
As a last note, we should also mention the tandem formed by Dick and Rick Hoyt / a father who practises not just running, but triathlon, with his disabled son. We leave you with an inspiring video about one of their challenges: an Ironman.