Photos: Selina Nunn
It’s been Rosie Hay’s lifelong dream to compete in the prestigious New York City Marathon, but when she finally got a coveted spot, the Air New Zealand flight attendant happily deferred her own goals to be a running guide for Paul Barclay, who is blind.
This November, the athletic pair will take to the five boroughs of the Big Apple to complete the 42-kilometre event.
“It took time for me to feel confident,” explains Rosie, 41, who took up guiding 18 months ago. “I was so worried I would do something wrong and hurt Paul. We are tethered together by a bungy cord, so I must be super-focused and am constantly talking to Paul about our surroundings and hazards.
“New York will be crazy busy. Guiding is so demanding that I will switch in and out with another guide.”
Rosie met Paul, who lost his sight in a car crash when he was 22, through Achilles New Zealand. The organisation matches Kiwis with disabilities and able-bodied athletes together to participate in local, national and international events.
“I had wanted to do it for a while, but it’s not easy with work and being a single parent,” explains Rosie. “I manage my work and running around my boys, Brooklyn, 17, and Harry, 11. My parents and my partner Nick are a great help. They know what running means to me.”
The bubbly Christchurch-based flight attendant has been flying domestic routes for Air New Zealand for 17 years. She’s also been running for about the same length of time, completing 21 marathons and many half marathons.
“Running makes me feel good,” shares Rosie. “It makes me feel alive and centred, and has really helped me in hard times. I went through a difficult break-up and I was feeling so vulnerable. Running was my lifeline after my confidence shattered.
“I thought it would be such a cool gift to give somebody else that chance to run. The pride I feel in an Achilles athlete is so much more than I feel when I compete by myself. I am always in tears at the finish line. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life.”
Rosie still hopes to complete the iconic New York race for herself one day, but for now being a guide delights her.
“It’s not just the glory of the race,” she explains. “Paul and I spend so much time together, the training and the long runs to build up to marathon distance. Paul is the most amazing, humble, grounded person. I get so much inspiration from our friendship.”
Paul, who is self-employed in the disability sector, makes sure Rosie knows just how much he appreciates their partnership.
“Rosie is so genuine and caring,” says the 58-year-old, who is also from Christchurch. “With no visual input for me at all, conversation is the key to helping time pass on those three-and-a-half-hour runs, and Rosie keeps me going.
“Blindness can be isolating and it’s easy to think it’s too hard to do something, but if I make a commitment to a guide, I will always turn up. The time they put in makes me very appreciative.”
Reflecting on the car accident that left him instantly blind, Paul shares being adaptable has been the key to his success.
“I’m always adjusting to things,” tells Paul, who has represented Aotearoa in blind cricket and goalball, but didn’t start running until six years ago. “Situations constantly arise that trigger the fact, ‘Yes, I’m blind.’ Others have asked if I accept my blindness. I never accept it, but I always adjust. I’d rather be sighted than blind, but this is how it is for me.
“Exercise has always been important to me and the positive vibes I get from running really keep me going, as does the support I get from my wife Jane and 18-year-old daughter Hannah.”
As they approach race day later this year, Paul is ecstatic he’ll finally get the chance to tick running through New York off his bucket list after Covid derailed his initial plan in 2020.
“I’m four years older, but the silver lining is that now I am much more prepared. I have run nine marathons whereas then I would only have run two.”
And for anyone interested in becoming a guide, Rosie doesn’t hesitate, “You don’t have to run marathons. You can walk any distance,” she encourages.
“These guys can’t do it without you and you will get so much out of it.”
To find out more or donate, visit givealittle.co.nz.
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