Global runners on the final straight: virtual event culminates on World Sight Day 2018
It’s the final straight for participants of Fight for Sight’s free virtual running event, with the last day of racing taking place on World Sight Day 2018.
The unique interactive event has taken people on a ‘journey to the centre of the eye’. Participants have been downloading an interactive app, putting on their headphones and then hearing exciting facts about the eye as they run or walk a 10k course.
Sign-ups to the race have exceeded expectations and doubled targets, with nearly 1000 entrants taking part from within the UK to Japan and the USA.
Mother and daughter Tina and Rose Roberts took part in the event and have raised an amazing £580 to fund eye research, as well as encouraging 25 other people to take part.
Rose was diagnosed with Stargardt macular dystrophy when she was seven years old when she started having difficulty seeing the board at school. The condition means that Rose has no central vision and relies on her peripheral vision, so she can make out shapes but can’t see detail.
Tina said: “We’ve been having a fantastic time taking part in the event and raising funds for vital research that could help find a treatment for young people like Rose. We believe Fight for Sight can achieve an awful lot on behalf of us and also for other families in the same position.”
Race organiser Ed Jackson, events manager at Fight for Sight, said: “We’ve been delighted by the global response to our first virtual event and we hope everyone has enjoyed taking part and learned something new along the way. And it’s not too late to take part – you just need to complete the race by midnight tonight, and it can be done from any location, including a treadmill. We’ve had such a good response that we’ll be giving people a second chance to have a go at the event in the New Year.”
Sign up to Fight for Sight's virtual event