Running Blind: An Alternative View of the London Marathon

by Simon Webb, Anna Cooper (Illustrations)

When blind runner Simon Webb was training for his first marathon in London 2011, aware that he wouldn’t be able to pass the time during the race by admiring the sights of the city, he researched a few facts about some of the points of interest around the 26.2 mile course. Using the route which has changed little since its first running in 1981 and which has been completed by over 800,000 people, this book focuses on London’s history, culture and sport, famous and not so famous landmarks, people and pubs – lots of pubs. From climbing the Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster, which houses Big Ben, to going underground into what the Victorians branded the 8th Wonder of the World, better known as the former entry hall to the Brunel Tunnel in Rotherhithe, this book is as much an alternative tour guide to London as a sport book. During every mile there are stories to tell and reflect the location for England’s first home rugby international on Blackheath, the restoration of the Cutty Sark after a devastating fire, the Deptford pub which hosted early gigs for Squeeze and Dire Straits and how the Chinese in Limehouse gained literary notoriety. When it does focus on running, we learn how it feels to run when you can’t see, what the guide runner experience is like and are left in no doubt that ‘hitting the wall’ is no fun at all. “What Simon has achieved is incredible. His story is truly compelling.” Michael Dobbs, author of House of Cards

314 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2014

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must admit, I didn't finish this. It's self-published, and it shows. I felt like it might have been better under the wing of a decent editor to give it a clearer shape. I was a little disappointed thinking it was going to be about the experience of running the Marathon blind, the sound, smell, and sensation of it, and so on, but aside from a few anecdotes, it keeps that under wraps for the most part, and instead does a sort of disorganised tourist guide to the sights along the route. And yes, I do mean sights. Weirdly, for a book called "running blind" there's an enormous amount of visual imagery along the lines of "we were greeted by an unusual sight...." or "looking east from there you see...." and I thought this was a slightly wasted opportunity for what could have been a genuine interesting and distinctive book.

And yes, I do feel like a bastard for panning it like this when it's self-published and the author seems like such a nice bloke from his interview on Marathon Talk, but hi ho.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great background reading about the history of people/places on the route of the London Marathon.