Visually impaired man runs 13 km every day with cane in hand

ISTANBUL

With a cane in hand and a handbell, a 43-year-old visually impaired man runs some 13 kilometers a day on the Caddebostan coastal road in Istanbul, despite the crowd.

“I tour this beach three times every evening. It is necessary to remain hopeful and accept life the way it is,” Erkan Pehlivanoğlu told Demirören News Agency.

Pehlivanoğlu, who fell on a hard surface and lost 92 percent of his sight when he was just 7 months old, started running “to lose weight he gained amid the pandemic.”

“I lost 22 kilograms. My weight dropped from 89 to 67 kilograms,” Pehlivanoğlu said.

Stating that he likes “pushing the limits” and that he attributes his joy of life to philosophy, Pehlivanoğlu said, “There is no need to dwell on the things we cannot change.”

The visually impaired man wears a handbell on his wrist so that citizens can notice him while he is running on the beach.

Thanks to the handbell, he is able to avoid hitting citizens and maintain his rhythm while running.

He also made a call to all visually impaired people like himself, saying, “The important thing is what a person can do despite the odds. As I said, I don’t like to know any bounds. Accept life the way it is.”