Recently, the public welfare event themed “The First Visually Impaired Pacing Squad for the Guangzhou Marathon” was grandly held at the Sports Center. It was organized by the Guangzhou Association of the Blind and the Rainbow Running Association of Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, hosted by the GM5 Running Club of Guangzhou, co-organized by Guangzhou People's Broadcasting Station, and sponsored by the Kailas brand. The event fully promotes the concepts of love, respect, freedom, and equality, aiming to draw attention from all sectors of society to vulnerable groups through the visually impaired pacing squad, and to encourage visually impaired and disabled individuals as well as more citizens to exercise and actively participate in barrier-free sports.
The pacing squad consists of 72 visually impaired athletes and guides, along with approximately 30 other volunteers. Based on running club members serving as guides for the visually impaired, the squad also recruited volunteers eager to contribute to this cause, providing pacing services to a wide range of visually impaired sports enthusiasts. Since its launch, the event has garnered attention and support from all walks of life. Kailas, a leading brand in climbing and outdoor gear dedicated to philanthropy, has not forgotten its social responsibilities while growing. This time, it has joined hands with the GM5 Running Club and fellow runners to support a group of visually impaired friends who yearn to run, offering loving pacing assistance and making its own contribution to advancing barrier-free sports. Cao Jun, Marketing Director of the Kailas brand and head of the Lingpan Outdoor Sports Center, was present at the event, presenting “love” clothing to blind guides and people with disabilities, and calling on everyone to actively participate in the event to support the charity run.
Running is not only one of the most popular sports activities among outdoor enthusiasts, but also a right that every visually impaired person who yearns to run deserves. To better enable visually impaired and disabled individuals to realize this right, a large number of guides are needed to help them run together. If running alone is about self-improvement, then running as a guide means helping others while improving oneself. In preparation forthe Guangzhou Marathon, which will be held this December,the squad will also team up with approximately 25 wheelchair marathon runners, forming a group of about 130 participants to compete in this edition of the race.
By supporting the charity run and the first visually impaired pacing squad in their preparation for the Guangzhou Marathon, Kailas hopes, at a deeper level, to take Guangzhou as a base, deepen efforts across the Pearl River Delta region, and collaborate with surrounding counties and cities to vigorously promote the development of barrier-free sports. Using running as an entry point, the initiative aims to explore more activities and develop more sports programs suitable for visually impaired and disabled individuals (such as blind football, table tennis, etc.), mobilizing forces from all sectors of society to draw more attention to this public welfare need.