Blind Man Runs Route 66 Marathon As Reminder To 'Keep Pushing'

A runner from every state, along with ten other countries, participated in the Williams Route 66 Marathon event in Tulsa this weekend. 

David Kuhn, from DeKalb, Illinois, finished the marathon Sunday.

Kuhn is blind.  

"I was involved in an accident with a drunk driver and slowly lost my eyesight,” Kuhn said. 

The accident was in 1981. He finished his first marathon in 1999. 

Kuhn usually runs with two guides, and recently finished the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon with guides Natalie Huffman and Deana Richmond. 

Together they used a rope to stay connected, and let him know if they were approaching a hill or rough pavement. 

"They give me instructions, like if we're turning left, turning right, and I’ll just put my hand up against their shoulder to follow them around,” he said. “And then they'll tell me when we're running straight, we just go straight, they give me cues about rough pavement - timing mats, when we come into water stations.” 

After the accident, Kuhn said he had to give up driving. His vision loss progressed slowly. 

"I started into bicycling as a way to get around, and slowly had to give that up,” Kuhn said. 

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Around the same time he gave up bicycling, he said he participated in a cross country triathlon from Santa Barbara, California to New York City. The event was a fundraiser for children with disabilities, which provided an opportunity for adults to be role models for those children. 

“Turns out those children were my role models, after meeting them," Kuhn said. 

Kuhn has some advice for anyone trying to overcome a challenge in their life. 

"You know, you just dig down inside and find within yourself, it's part of the human spirit, just to keep pushing and you find out you have more in you than you ever imagined."