Running in the Darkness

By HADAS PARUSH
The Jerusalem Post

03/16/2012

Blind from birth, Richard Bernstein, completes his 17th full marathon in Jerusalem.

What would it feel like to be running in darkness? Think about what it would be like when you don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you’re going, you don’t know how far you have to go, and you don’t know how far you’ve come. Blind from birth, that is how Richard Bernstein tries to convey the experience of running.

Bernstein is 38-year-old civil rights attorney from Detroit, Michigan, representing people with disabilities and special needs that otherwise don’t have access to the justice system making sure these people have inclusion. He is also a professor at the university of Michigan teaching social justice. In his legal work, Bernstein promotes education and sports programs that are accessible to people with disabilities.

On top of that Bernstein has ran 16 marathons, in addition to the Ironman triathlon in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 2008 and the Israman triathlon in Eilat, Israel in 2011.

Now, having run in the darkness through Jerusalem’s ancient, slippery cobblestone streets, Bernstein just completed his 17th full marathon during the city’s Second Annual International Marathon, Friday.

Together with his running guide, Major Shaked of the Israeli Air Force, Bernstein ran to promote rights of the disabled, and to change perceptions of people with disabilities.