Blind Boston Marathon Runner Finishes Third 

Winnetka, IL – Barbara Lischinsky is all about running. Recently she took third place in 
the Boston Marathon visual impairment category.

“I feel free when I’m running, because I’m not using my cane,” said Barbara Lischinsky 
of Newton, Massachusetts. 

Barbara also takes courses such as “Braille” and “Braille Reading” with The Hadley 
School for the Blind. Hadley is a distance education school that has over 10,000 students 
in all 50 states and 100 countries. All courses are offered free of charge to the blind and 
Hadley relies on contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations to fund its 
programs.

“Running brings a great deal of peace to me.” Barbara has been running since high school 
when she joined the track team at Peabody High School. She quickly became enamored 
with the sport, but things haven’t always been easy for her ever since she became legally 
blind in 2000. “I was having a real pity party listening to the marathon on TV and I 
thought I need to do something,” she said. “I need to run.” Now in her 40’s, Barbara runs 
26-30 miles a week to keep in shape and already she plans on running in the 2007 Boston 
Marathon for which she is already qualified. 

To enable a safe run, she runs with a guide who is a runner. He/she communicates with 
her throughout the entire race and tells her what the ground is like around her so she can 
anticipate rough terrain or obstacles. The guide runs next to Barbara with a string tied 
around his/her wrist and the other end around Barbara’s wrist so that they may stay at the 
same pace.

Currently, Barbara is enjoying her distance education classes at The Hadley School for 
the Blind. “Hadley is truly the relaxing part of my day,” said Barbara when asked about 
her class work. Barbara was introduced to Hadley by a friend who happened to mention 
that Hadley offers braille courses. “I want to master braille” Barbara said. For now 
Barbara plans on taking more classes from Hadley like, “Braille Literacy 3: Uncontracted 
Braille” and “Braille Reading 2.”                                                               

Barbara was born without vision in her left eye and her right eye started to decline 
because of Sjogren’s syndrome, a chronic disease in which white blood cells attack the 
moisture-producing glands. She also is fighting iron deficiency and diabetes insipidus. 
“Part of who I am, not like a stubbed toe which can go away,” Barbara said. “It is a 
characteristic of who I am.”