Record breaking: Sight loss runner shares thoughts with BTN
A record breaking European runner is the first person, with sight loss, to complete the Six World Marathon Majors.
The title is seen as one of the most prestigious distance running series in the world. Mark Rogerson, 41, from Merseyside, ran his final race in Boston last month. He was joined by his guide runner Katie Garrity. She’s accompanied him for the last four runs.
Their goal was to raise more than £25,000 for RNIB. Mark started the challenge back in 2018.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought things to a halt which meant he had to take a two-year break after he ran the New York City Marathon in November 2019.
This year saw the duo complete the staggering 26.2 mile course in four hours and fifty minutes.
‘We had hoped to go quicker but things didn’t go to plan; the weather was hotter than expected and it was in the low 20°Cs,’ explains Mark to the Breaktime News team.
‘Katie and I felt a little sick in the race and took the decision to prioritise finishing the race as opposed to picking up the pace.’
Giving up was ‘absolutely unthinkable!’
‘There was also a lot of pressure and expectations on us and giving up was absolutely unthinkable!’
‘We had a film crew following us the whole time we were in Boston for an upcoming documentary, and we wanted to make sure the end of the film was the ending where we finished the race and got the six-star medal.’
‘Looking back, we are very proud of our achievements but having a huge goal like this, that’s been in our lives since 2018, now it’s gone it feels like our lives are empty. Katie and I are working on the next challenge and see what happens with that!’
Mark lost his sight in 2013 after discovering he had a detached retina and operations to prevent his other retina from detaching caused him to contract an infection. His remaining sight could not be saved.
The RNIB has supported Mark in a number of ways since his diagnosis which led him to join the charity as a Senior Project Assistant so he could help to support other blind and partially sighted people.
With more than 800 marathons organised every year, there are only six marathons which have the title of a World Marathon Major. An American runner is thought to be the first, making Mark the second in the world, but, crucially, the first in Europe.
