(FeaturedNews.com) – Keryl Rustin, 74, from Kearneysville, West Virginia, might be blind, but she just managed to finish a 5K at the National Senior Games within 45 minutes, allowing her to take the 15th place in her age group.
This was her second National Senior Games 5K run, as she had run a different 5K race in 2022 without any assistance and going unnoticed.
However, this time the situation was slightly different as she started running in the race on July 9 with a running guide. Because of the rain, the weather conditions posed a new challenge for Rustin, who was willing to try and see if she would be able to finish the race.
Rustin revealed that she had decided to join her first National Senior Games Race in 2022 because she had spent the last few years running and training with her granddaughter, Gabbi who is seven. As she explained, it was her granddaughter that would usually come outside with her early in the morning even on days that there was no school. She would then run with her and give her cues to help her keep up in the race.
This included information about the pavement and road changes or any curves in the road. These helped Rustin run even though she is blind. Since starting to train in 2020, Rustin has participated in 15 races.
On the day of this latest race, she was intending to use a direction app to guide her through the race but the app malfunctioned leaving her to run on her own. This was when she started to use the footsteps of other runners as her guide in the race, while other voices were yelling directions her way.
WATCH:
Keryl Rustin, 75, rocked an incredible sprint during the 5K Road Race at the 2023 National Senior Games presented by @Humana yesterday.
Keryl is blind and started running with her young granddaughter in 2020.
Read her inspiring story: https://t.co/YHWTjF6bYY #NSG2023 pic.twitter.com/kGMynIMRoZ
— NSGA (@SeniorGames1) July 10, 2023
Copyright 2023, FeaturedNews.com
