Run With Chestnut

Brandy Pinder, a talented blind massage therapist and passionate triathlete, shares her journey into massage therapy as well as her athletic goals as a triathlete. Brandy offers insights into overcoming misconceptions about blindness in her profession, the tools and techniques that keep her competitive, and how athletics have shaped her life and career. We also cover her thoughts on other people who are blind and low vision getting into massage as well as some fun stories about her experiences. 

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Simon is an assistive technology instructor at the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, a branch of the NY Public Library system. The library is now the national library service for the blind and print disabled, rather than national library service for the blind and physically handicapped. This makes it more clear that people with print reading disabilities such as dyslexia are eligible!

NLS often partners with commercial audiobook publishers to get audiobooks for library patrons. Since they operate under a copyright law exemption that allows them to provide copies and specialize formats without limitation, this means that library patrons don’t have to wait for audiobooks to become available and don’t have to return them within a certain timeline. NLS also records audiobooks in cases where a commercial audiobook is unavailable. 

 Many of the expanded program offerings that the library provides, including the online workshops, are made possible by volunteers, so that the more people who join us, the more the library can achieve!

Andrew is a blind DM leading many dungeons and dragons games. We have a conversation about how he got into D&D and what makes a compelling and successful D&D session. Drop us a comment to tell us what you think! Hit us up @RunWithChestnut on for extras!

Welcome to Season 3 of the Run with Chestnut podcast. We catch everyone up on the past few months and go on to discuss our races and future goals. This includes Simon’s first ever 70.3 half ironman triathlon, the NYC marathon, and more. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

This bonus episode was recorded back in March of 2023 and it recaps Ultraman Florida. This is an ultra distance triathlon and Francesco was the first person with a disability to successfully complete it! Listen to hear all about the struggle and drama that happened over the 3 days of racing. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

In this episode first for 2023, Francesco and Simon are joined by first time podcast guest Tianna to discuss Francesco’s upcoming attempt to be the first person with a disability to finish UltraMan Florida. We also discuss how Tianna found the Achilles team and how she got involved with racing as a guide for Francesco. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

Today we discuss how both Francesco and Simon face their recent injuries! Is it coincidence that they both were injured a week apart? Listen on to find out. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

Today we discuss the fun adventure of bar trivia and how accessible it is to the blind! Before hitting this, we recap the Boston Marathon and the first time both Francesco and Simon roll jiujitsu. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

We discuss the invasion of some not so friendly neighborhood pigeons into the Chestnut apartment, as well as THE positive test that no one wants to receive! Finally we talk a bit of race recap where Simon sends it on the course to beat out our third flat mate Andrew in their long standing rivalry. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

We discuss the purpose and evolution of audio description which helps to make visual media accessible to those who are blind. We share some personal stories then go on to discuss our own top 5 favorite movies and TV shows as well as the role of audio description within our favorites. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.