Visually impaired Boston Marathon runner and his guide give an update on race

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

On Sunday's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, we met two runners, Nafij Ahmed and Josh Bard. They were gearing up for the Boston Marathon on Monday, but there were a couple of challenges. One big one - Nafij has retinitis pigmentosa, which means his eyesight is like constantly having tunnel vision. So he needed a guide. Cue Josh Bard. We had to know. How did yesterday's race go?

JOSH BARD: My name is Josh Bard.

NAFIJ AHMED: My name is Nafij Ahmed. The race went mostly well for me. The first half felt really good. Josh and I were cruising. We completed the first half in under two hours.

BARD: You know, a lot of the things that we didn't train for were the things that were really challenging. At least Nafij and I did a lot of work on communication and what to do in certain circumstances or if we hit a couple roadblocks. But we didn't talk about what would happen if one of us cramped and one of us got really uncomfortable along the race. And that's what happened.

AHMED: Went for about four miles, and then it was some major cramping. And so at mile 21, 22, we went into a medical tent and spent about 10 minutes there.

BARD: I think there's a lot of soul-searching for both of us. I know specifically for Nafij that it was a real question of whether or not he could make it to the end. And while I don't know the pain that he was feeling, I could see it in his face. I could hear it when he was getting stretched out. For me, it was really challenging emotionally.

AHMED: This was my ninth marathon, and I'd never stopped at a medical tent before. But there's a first for everything.

BARD: And it was my first marathon, and it was grueling, and it was hot. But we got to that finish line. Our time was five hours and nine minutes.

AHMED: I do feel somewhat accomplished, but it was special to do it with Josh. We had so many friends and family. And it was just such a memorable time.

BARD: I ran the Boston Marathon with Nafij Ahmed.

AHMED: And I ran the Boston Marathon with my friend Josh Bard.

KELLY: Love it. And congratulations to you both.

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