Blind woman sets her sights on the 10k

Renee Haynes (right) and Jimmy Nickerson practice for the Monument Avenue 10k. Nickerson is the son of Renee’s best friend who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer Many participants in the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k find the event to be a challenge on its own, but walking the race with severely impaired vision adds an extra set of challenges.

For Renee Haynes, those challenges will be very real on April 2, the day of this year’s race. Haynes has been almost completely blind since she was 8 years old after a condition called hydrocephalus damaged her optic nerve. They won’t be new challenges though – she walked the race last year, too.

“I have always loved walking,” Haynes said. “Last year I talked about the 10k and couldn’t find anyone to do it with me, but then my sister walked with me. This year I have a different reason: Six months ago my best friend was diagnosed with colon cancer.”

She plans to walk the race with her friend’s 19-year-old son, Jimmy Nickerson, this year.

Haynes has been preparing for the 10k for months as a part of her usual exercise regime. She often walks laps at the park with her husband or goes to Chester with her sister where they sometimes walk a 10k on their own. It’s hard to jog outdoors where there are unpredictable obstacles, but sometimes she gets in a 6-mile jog indoors on her Wii Fit.

In January, Haynes participated in a few training sessions through the Chester YMCA, where she practiced speed walking with longtime friend Tracy DeLuca.

DeLuca works as a teacher for the blind and helps Haynes with transportation.

“I think it’s really important that she has the opportunity to stay involved and be able to do the things she wants to do,” DeLuca said. “When the 10k rolled around, I wanted to make sure she had the opportunity to do it.”

Haynes won’t be the only visually-impaired person walking the race. At least four students from the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired, part of the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired, will walk the race, too. Through the rehab center, students from all over the state learn to cope with their loss of vision and gain the skills necessary to live and work as independently as possible.

“We try to look for activities like this, like the 10k, that they can participate in, so that when they go home and there are things in their own community, they’ll feel comfortable participating,” said Melody Roane, director of the rehab center.

Roane, who is completely blind, participated in the 10k on her own for the past several years and said she knows of several other blind people who navigate their way through the race every year.

“You can just follow the crowd,” Roane said. “It’s a very blind-friendly activity.”

For Haynes, who is not entirely blind, there was even more to take in last year when she walked the course.

“I liked all the people in costumes,” she said. “I couldn’t see them that much, but my sister would describe them. I didn’t realize that was a part of it, otherwise we might’ve done that.”

Last year Haynes was able to jog some of the 10k, but with the crowds and the cobblestone streets, she walked most of the race. She hopes to increase her walking speed this year.

“Last year we did it in 90 minutes,” she said. “I would like to improve by at least five minutes.”

It’s not just speed that she wants to increase though – it’s also distance. DeLuca said she’s agreed to help Haynes train to walk a marathon.

“I’m excited for her to continue participating in the 10k, and I’m really excited that she wants to do something bigger,” DeLuca said. “I love the fact that she has these physical aspirations. She is a dynamic, enthusiastic and contagious person to be around, and once she puts her mind to something, she’s going to do it.”