The 37th Annual Bolder Boulder wrapped up on Monday afternoon. With 54,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair racers, this Memorial Day 10K is now the largest race in the U.S. in which all participants are timed. Aside from the race itself, there are also bands, food, crazy costumes and other festivities – it’s really a sight to see.
But being able to see is not a requirement to participate in the Bolder Boulder. This year was the first for Amelia Dickerson, a Boulder resident who has been blind for decades.
Nothing Slows Her Down
While this was her first time running the Bolder Boulder, it’s hardly her first time running a race. Blind since the age of 14 following a car accident, Dickerson has never let her lack of sight slow her down.
“I started running when I was in middle school,” she told the Colorado Daily in 2013, “and then I ran high school track and cross country. I was not very fast (laughing). I’ve run off and on, just when I could find people to run with. The past two years [2012-2013] I finally had a chance to run regularly.”
In April, 2013, Dickerson ran the Cherry Creek Sneak in Denver. Her time for the 5K was 20:47. That’s actually pretty fast, especially for an amateur. At the urging of a friend, Dickerson decided to run in an officially sanctioned race where her time would be recorded.
That July, she ran the 5K Boulder Road Runners All Comers track meet. Her time was 21:25. Later that year, she then ran another 5K for a time of 20:38. This is believed to be a record time for a blind person in the 5K.
In May, 2014, she ran her first marathon – Denver’s Colfax Marathon. Her time was just a bit over three and a half hours. Later that year, in November, she ran her second marathon – the NYC Marathon. Her time in that one was 3:35:44.
In each race, Dickerson runs with at least one guide. She’ll hold on to a tether and her guide will hold on to the other end. The crowds, not the course, are the biggest issue. Usually, she’s run side by side with the guide who holds the tether while one or two other guides will run in front of her in order to clear the path. The guides will yell out “Blind runner coming up behind you” and similar phrases. Her guide for the NY Marathon wrote a story about his experiences running with Amelia.
Her most recent marathon was Monday’s Bolder Boulder, where she finished with an official time of 45:04.60.
“What I love about the Bolder Boulder is this rush of people and energy,” she told The Denver Post. “That’s the fun thing about a race. There’s sounds, smells. It’s always fun to get kind of a running commentary: ‘Oh, there goes somebody dressed like Superman.’ That’s a huge piece of having a guide, especially in the longer races. They’ll be that mental support. And if what you need is a little bit of distraction to get you to stop focusing quite so much on the burning in your legs, getting that sort of information is awesome.”
A large part of Amelia’s encouragement came from Deb Conley (pictured above), President and Founder of Lending Sight. Deb has volunteered hundreds of hours to help other runners just like Amelia and is a United States Track and Field Certified Coach.
Amelia Dickerson is a hero we’re honored to Highlight. She’s not letting anything get in her way as she pursues what she loves.
If you’d like to help Dickerson, or other athletes with disabilities, we recommend both Lending Sight and Achilles International Colorado.
