Simon Wheatcroft's Fundraiser:

Team With A Vision Boston 2016

BENEFITING: Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

ORGANIZER: Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

EVENT: 2016 Boston Marathon

EVENT DATE: Apr 18, 2016

THE STORY:

My guides for the 2016 Boston Marathon will be Heather Armstrong, founder of dooce.com and New York Times bestselling author, and Nicole Perry, the blogger behind Pumps and Iron (pumpsandiron.com).

About Me:

Unknown to my family and I, I was born with the genetic degenerative eye condition – Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) which gradually deteriorates your retina. At age 13, during a routine eye test the optician noticed something strange about my retina. A few months later I was diagnosed with RP. I had expected to live the majority of my life with vision, but by the age of 17, my vision had deteriorated to the point I became legally blind.

This will be the second year in a row that I have the chance of racing at the Boston Marathon. With the help of RunKeeper, I've completed marathon distances and ultra marathon distances, and with each step I hope to expand my limits and once again see how far I can go.

For the last 23 years members of Team With A Vision have toed the starting line on Marathon Monday and shown the world that 'disability' does not mean 'inability.'

Our international team of blind and sighted runners race to support individuals throughout Massachusetts living with vision loss. Their efforts allow the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired to deliver professional, peer and volunteer support to over 1,100 individuals each year, giving them the support they need to live with dignity and independence.

All funds raised support MABVI's statewide network of vision rehabilitation services, which include 14 low vision clinics, 34 low vision support groups, and 300 volunteers matched 1:1 with blind individuals.

We are honored to be a part of the 2016 John Hancock Nonprofit Program!