Thomas Panek is blind, a frequent marathoner, and President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild, a national nonprofit providing services to the visually impaired. Panek is the first person with vision loss to lead Lighthouse Guild.

In addition to running marathons tethered to human guide runners, he has finished the New York City Half Marathon with a team of guide dogs. He is also working with Google engineers to develop a phone app that can help the blind "see" the road and various obstacles around them.

In this podcast, Panek got George's attention by talking about "blind baseball"--a sport George is eager to witness. Amby was drawn to Panek's comments about how running can be especially powerful at improving the independence and mental health of physically challenged individuals. 

Learn more about Thomas Panek and Lighthouse Guild here.

WHERE TO FIND "RUNNING: STATE OF THE SPORT"

Use your smartphone to download podcast apps from Apple, Spotify, Pandora, or YouTube Podcasts. Once you've selected your favorite app, search for "running state of the sport."

With your computer, tablet, or smartphone, you can also listen direct to “Running: State of the Sport” at the below internet links.

Apple

Spotify

Audible

Pandora

I Heart Radio

YouTube

"Running: State of the Sport" is brought to you by MarathonHandbook.com and RunLongRunHealthy.com.

Marathon Handbook is the world’s leading marathon website, with a special focus on trustworthy running information and free, runner-tested training plans for all ability levels.

"Run Long, Run Healthy" is a weekly newsletter focused on the newest, most scientific, and most useful training advice for runners. It was launched by Amby in 2021, and is now edited by Brady Holmer, exercise physiologist and 2:24 marathon runner.