Marla Runyan

Marla Runyan was born January 4, 1969 in Santa Maria, California, She is a marathon runner who is legally blind. At the age of nine, she developed Stargardt’s Disease, a form of macular degeneration, which left her legally blind. She is a three time national champion in the women’s 5000 meters.

Background

Stargardt’s Disease is the most common cause of blindness in the United States. Despite the effect Stargardt’s had on Runyan’s vision, she did retain her peripheral vision.

She graduated from Camarillo High School in 1987. She received a B.S. in Education of the Deaf at San Diego State University and a M.S. in Education of Deaf-Blind Children in 1994. While studying at San Diego State University, she began competing in the heptathlon, 200-meter dash, high jump, shot put, 100-meter hurdle, long jump, javelin throw, and the 800-meter run.

Accomplishments

Although she won four gold medals in the 1992 summer Paralympics, and a silver medal for the shot put and gold in the pentathlon in the 1996 Paralympics, her career as a world-class runner in able-bodied events began in 1999 at the Pan American Games. There she won the 1,500-meter race. The next year, she placed eighth in the 1,500-meter in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, making Runyan the first legally blind athlete to compete in the Olympics and the highest finish by an American woman in that event.

In 2001, she co-wrote and published her autobiography “No Finish Line: My Life As I See It”. Also that year she won her first of three consecutive 5000 meter National Championships. In 2002 she also won the road 5K and 10K National Championships, and married her coach, Matt Lonergan.

In the 2002 New York Marathon she recorded the second fastest debut time ever by an American woman with a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 10 seconds. She qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics when she finished second in the track and field Olympic trials. She gave birth to her first child, Anna Lee, on September 1, 2005 while taking a year off from competition.

Runyan’s vision worsens as time passes. However, Runyan has not allowed her worsening condition to affect her career. She plans to continue competing in running events. Marla currently resides in Eugene, Oregon.

Since 2001 Marla Runyan has been the first Ambassador for the Perkins School for the Blind, which is the school Helen Keller attended, and is the first school for the blind in the USA. She thus stays updated on the latest in teachings and educational trends for the deaf and blind. She is also very actively involved with the students.

Marla Runyan exemplifies the traits of courage and strength in the face of a physical challenge such as blindness. This condition would provide most people the logical consequences to accept their limitations. But she has shown that with an individualized education program, coupled with the courage and determination to succeed, people can overcome any obstacles and challenges. We each have so much untapped potential, and observing role models such as Marla, makes it clear that the only limits are those that we place upon ourselves. Click here for the Transforming Child Behavior Home Page.

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