Racing on His Own for the First Time in Decades

Today marks the beginning of our Virtual Run for Thanks 5K – and we’re inviting all our runners to dedicate this race to the person or community that they’re most grateful to this year. 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year, so feeling gratitude might not seem appropriate, but the fact is that none of us made it through this year on our own. We all had help: from loved ones, from friends, from community members, and from essential workers.

To kick off this race period, we’re sharing the story of one runner whose Run for Thanks 5K is incredibly meaningful, both to us and to him. Tom Panek is the CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, one of NYRR’s charity partners. 

Tom has always been an athlete and a runner, but due to a genetic condition he’s been blind for nearly his entire adult life – which meant that, to run, he always needed a guide dog (as was the case in the 2019 United Airlines NYC Half, pictured in the Instagram post above) or a human guide by his side…until now. You can watch Tom’s story in the video below.

If you’re as inspired by Tom as we are, sign up for the Virtual Run for Thanks 5K and dedicate it to the person, or people, you’re most grateful to this year.