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Reading 2. 2 00:00:04,260 --> 00:00:06,420 Marla Runyon by Peter Rugg. 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:09,980 Marla Runyon is a woman used to questions. 4 00:00:10,820 --> 00:00:14,620 There are the interviews about how she made history chasing an Olympic dream, 5 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,100 runners who want to know how she trains, 6 00:00:17,580 --> 00:00:21,500 people looking for advice on how to overcome the obstacles in their lives. 7 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:27,500 They come to her looking for answers, sometimes mundane and sometimes profound. 8 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:33,860 But since she was a child, there has been one question that has followed her above all others. 9 00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:35,660 What do you see? 10 00:00:37,300 --> 00:00:41,640 At the age of nine, Runyon was diagnosed with Stargardt's disease. 11 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,740 It's a genetic condition that causes progressive vision loss, 12 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:51,380 and most who suffer from it have their sight degenerate to the point of legal blindness. 13 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:57,380 Now 44, Runyon's vision is reduced to shadows and indistinct shadows. 14 00:00:57,700 --> 00:01:00,320 Though she retains some peripheral sight. 15 00:01:01,460 --> 00:01:02,940 Here's what I do see. 16 00:01:03,500 --> 00:01:08,320 A permanent blot in front of my eyes that almost has physical properties. 17 00:01:08,740 --> 00:01:13,800 She described in her autobiography, No Finish Line, my life as I see it. 18 00:01:14,580 --> 00:01:19,320 Imagine that someone took a flash picture, and the flash got in your eyes. 19 00:01:19,900 --> 00:01:23,820 For a few moments, you'd see a purplish or gray splotch. 20 00:01:24,460 --> 00:01:26,240 In a few minutes, it would fade away, 21 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:27,480 and the world around you would fade away. 22 00:01:27,500 --> 00:01:29,140 The world around you would appear normal again. 23 00:01:29,660 --> 00:01:31,100 For me, it stays. 24 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,700 However, she has refused to be defined by her condition. 25 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,660 Today, she holds the Paralympic world records in the B3 division 26 00:01:40,660 --> 00:01:47,500 for the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 27 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,080 high jump, long jump, and pentathlon. 28 00:01:52,460 --> 00:01:55,520 Her success has extended far beyond athletics. 29 00:01:55,700 --> 00:01:57,140 She has been a teacher. 30 00:01:57,500 --> 00:01:58,380 A public speaker. 31 00:01:58,780 --> 00:01:59,320 A coach. 32 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:02,480 The race director for the Camarillo Half Marathon. 33 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:04,920 A philanthropist for Camp Ability. 34 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:10,740 And, with the publication of her autobiography, No Finish Line, my life as I see it, 35 00:02:10,740 --> 00:02:12,480 a best-selling author. 36 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,320 This was not the life most thought Runyon would have. 37 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,060 As a child, the specialists told her to lower her expectations. 38 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,940 They told her she shouldn't expect to get the same grades as her fellow students, 39 00:02:26,940 --> 00:02:29,940 because she wouldn't be able to learn the way they did. 40 00:02:30,700 --> 00:02:34,460 They told her that meant she likely wouldn't get into a good college. 41 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,900 While Runyon may not have been graced with perfect eyes, 42 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:45,720 she was given a loving mother who instilled in her a sense of hard work, self-reliance, and pride. 43 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:52,300 A poor attitude can be far more disabling than blindness, Runyon would later say. 44 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,480 All of the specialists were wrong. 45 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,300 Runyon refused to give up because of her disability. 46 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:04,680 In 1987, she graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School, 47 00:03:05,220 --> 00:03:11,880 then went on to attend the University of San Diego to complete her master's degree in 1994. 48 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,200 She studied education for deaf and blind students. 49 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:19,220 Still, none of it came easily. 50 00:03:20,220 --> 00:03:24,360 As an adult, Runyon admitted to struggling in the classroom 51 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:25,300 because schoolwork was so difficult. 52 00:03:25,300 --> 00:03:27,320 Schoolwork was so laborious for her. 53 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,640 However, one place she felt free was on the field. 54 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:33,980 She'd always been an athletic girl, 55 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,540 and in college, she found herself drawn to the track. 56 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:39,840 When she was running, 57 00:03:40,260 --> 00:03:44,540 the divisions between herself and the students with perfect vision fell away. 58 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,320 She felt as if she could do as well as everyone else. 59 00:03:48,980 --> 00:03:51,900 It was a feeling she would chase the rest of her life, 60 00:03:51,900 --> 00:03:55,140 and following it would lead her into history. 61 00:03:55,300 --> 00:03:59,220 In 2000, when she journeyed to Sydney, 62 00:03:59,620 --> 00:04:04,560 she became the first legally blind person ever to compete in the Olympic Games. 63 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:10,400 Then, in 2002, she finished the New York Marathon in fourth place 64 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:14,820 with a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 10 seconds, 65 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,920 becoming the fastest American in that year's competition 66 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:23,680 and the second fastest American woman ever to cross the finish line. 67 00:04:24,420 --> 00:04:25,080 In pre-school, she was the first American woman in the world to compete in the Olympic Games. 68 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:26,620 In preparation for those games, 69 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,800 Runyon told reporters that her biggest challenge 70 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:34,680 was to keep track of the people just ahead of her as she navigated the field. 71 00:04:35,620 --> 00:04:37,700 To compensate for her handicap, 72 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,700 Runyon prepared for a style of racing she described as 73 00:04:41,700 --> 00:04:45,020 fast and tactical, a combination of both. 74 00:04:46,020 --> 00:04:50,280 The one thing she didn't plan for, or want, was sympathy. 75 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:54,280 I don't expect any mercy, no mercy whatsoever, 76 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:56,040 she said. 77 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:57,860 They're not going to say, 78 00:04:58,240 --> 00:04:59,220 Go ahead, Marla! 79 00:04:59,500 --> 00:05:01,160 That's not going to happen. 80 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,820 Runyon's unique story put her in the international spotlight 81 00:05:06,820 --> 00:05:09,720 and brought her fans across the globe. 82 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:13,500 Runyon explained to reporters that, 83 00:05:13,700 --> 00:05:16,160 though she loves knowing that she inspires people, 84 00:05:16,860 --> 00:05:21,220 seeing how strongly some people react to her story can be shocking. 85 00:05:22,020 --> 00:05:23,120 In that interview, 86 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,060 Runyon went on to recount, 87 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:29,960 how she received an email from a woman whose son wanted to be a skateboarder, 88 00:05:30,260 --> 00:05:32,880 but had also been diagnosed with Stargardt's. 89 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:35,860 At first, the mother refused to allow him, 90 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:38,280 but once she read Runyon's story, 91 00:05:38,620 --> 00:05:39,300 she told him, 92 00:05:39,700 --> 00:05:40,600 Go get the ramp! 93 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,860 As much as these stories inspire Runyon to continue her example, 94 00:05:47,460 --> 00:05:50,540 she admits that even reading them can be a struggle. 95 00:05:51,500 --> 00:05:53,360 Reading is extremely difficult, 96 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,360 and she can only do so with a voice outspoken, 97 00:05:56,460 --> 00:05:59,700 and she has to use the right-put system on her computer. 98 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:02,140 The words have to be enlarged so much 99 00:06:02,140 --> 00:06:06,820 that sometimes only three letters at a time can fit on the screen. 100 00:06:06,820 --> 00:06:10,300 There are moments when she simply gives up for the day. 101 00:06:10,300 --> 00:06:14,300 Even the simple act of reading an email is too much. 102 00:06:14,300 --> 00:06:16,820 Those moments never last long. 103 00:06:16,820 --> 00:06:21,820 I've never known anyone to be successful if all they do is blame, 104 00:06:21,820 --> 00:06:25,420 if they choose to be a victim, she told reporters. 105 00:06:25,420 --> 00:06:26,440 If you have a problem, 106 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,320 if you choose to be a victim of this or that, 107 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,320 or of what others have done to you, 108 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,320 or what you believe to be someone else's fault, 109 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,320 you're just constantly making excuses. 110 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,760 I think the secret to achieving something 111 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:42,480 is holding yourself accountable for your choices, 112 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:44,080 good and bad, 113 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:45,960 and learning from your mistakes, 114 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,760 and then regrouping and moving on. 115 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:50,760 It's an ongoing process.