Blind Runner To Take On 10K At Walk To Stop Diabetes
DENVER (CBS4)- Kerry Kuck isn't letting anything stop him from lacing up his sneakers for Step Out: The Walk To Stop Diabetes this Saturday.
"Running is Prozac. I mean, running is a high," Kuck said.
Kuck runs every single day, despite going blind from Type 1 diabetes.
"When I was diagnosed at 13 there were doctors who said I'd be dead by age 30," Kuck said. "Now I'm 55 and I qualified for the Boston Marathon this year again."
With the help of his guide dog Crosby, Kuck runs around his neighborhood every day.
"I've got it all memorized; Lincoln, Sherman, Grant, Logan, Pennsylvania, Pearl."
But it's the races he loves. For those types of events he has to leave Crosby behind and instead puts a leash around a human guide.
"It's just a whole lot of fun. In these big road races I don't feel blind because there are so many people talking to me," he said. "I'm just like any other runner, I'm not the fastest, I'm not the slowest. Usually I finish faster than half the field."
For Kuck, running is a great equalizer.
"It's a great way to get out, men and women of all ages, all walks of life … it's also getting out into the community as opposed to being a shut in … it's getting something back from before I went blind and a feeling of normalcy."
He says many people have used his story as an inspiration to run.
"What really makes me feel good is when I can provide hope to someone like me who is blind and has Type 1 diabetes."
