Cedar Creek, Utah
Legally blind western Montana runner Rhonda Copeland has had to discontinue many of her favorite activities over the past twelve years, but the one thing she didn’t want to have to give up is her passion for running. So she chose not to.
Diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative genetic eye disease twelve years ago, Montana runner, Rhonda Copeland has slowly been losing her vision over the ensuing years. She has adapted, and still runs independently, without the aid of human or animal assistance.
Two years ago she ran her first marathon. Dubbed “Vision Runner”, Copeland has now launched a new challenge for herself – a 1,222 mile virtual run from her hometown in Missoula, Montana to the Ellen DeGeneres studios in Burbank, California. Originally contemplating including walking miles in her challenge, she discarded this idea, choosing to run the entire way. “It’s not really a challenge unless it pushes your comfort zone a little bit”, say Rhonda.
Why a virtual run? Doing an actual run on the roads and highways from Montana to California is not feasible for her as a blind runner right now, for both logistic and safety reasons.
With her white cane for guidance, Rhonda is aiming to run 36 miles around her hometown each week for 34 weeks, when she hopes to attend a taping of the Ellen DeGeneres show. Why is she running to Ellen’s? “I want to be on Ellen. I want to share my story and be an inspiration”
And if running from Montana to California wasn’t inspiring enough, she has also set herself a lofty goal to raise $30,000 for Guide Dogs for the Blind. “We only need 30,000 people to donate $1 and we have reached our goal”. After over 100 days of running she has currently run almost 700 miles and has “virtually”
When talking about her website www.RunOverToEllens.com she states, “I’ve created a website hoping to inspire myself and other people to break through whatever barriers are in the way”.
Follow Vision Runner’s progress at www.RunOverToEllens.com Donate at www.firstgiving.com/
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
For more information or to arrange an interview with Rhonda please contact:
Runner Insight, LLC
Theresa Whiteside
406 370 8956
admin@RunnerInsight.com
