On the afternoon of July 28, 2016, after watching a Korean movie 'My Marathon,' I was inspired to take my first step into the running world. I jogged and walked briskly for over 3 kilometers, taking 25 minutes. Coincidentally, it was my birthday, so I defined July 28 as the start of my running life.

Due to my personality and the desire to quickly escape the darkness that had imprisoned me for so long, I started running intermittently on the highway after work. Through periods of injury and recovery, on October 30, after three months of pain, I completed my first full marathon at the Tai'an Marathon with a time of 5 hours and 20 minutes, ranking 1169th. The number '520' is both love and pain for me. To many around me, I became their goal; to true marathon runners, I became an example of disrespect and discouragement towards marathons. At that time, I didn't care about respect or disrespect; I had run the 42.195 kilometers with all my might.

After the Tai'an Marathon, a running friend introduced me to Olympic Forest Park (奥森), a pilgrimage site for Beijing runners with numerous running groups and countless running friends. There, I trained with the team, competed in pace and distance with friends, ran in the rain and snow for the first time, and achieved a pace under 4 minutes for the first time. At that time, for the sake of showing off, pace and distance were fiercely contested. It wasn't until I reached the bottleneck of exhaustion and the pain in my body became unbearable that I realized the injuries sustained while being envied by others and maintaining my honor with medication far exceeded my expectations.

By chance, I learned that Sister Xiaoyun from the 'He Yajun Blind Assistance Group' was recruiting guide runners. At that time, I didn't know there was such a group in Olympic Forest Park, nor did I know how blind people ran in their dark world. I just had some free time and wanted to contribute a little, so I signed up and joined the group's WeChat group.

On Saturday, March 4, early in the morning, I arrived at the designated meeting point. Curiously, a volunteer asked me if I was a blind friend. Maybe it's because I was born with small eyes, making it easy to be misunderstood.

That day, for the first time, I saw white eyes up close. That kind of white, pure and harmless, gave a heart-wrenching feeling that made you want to look but not dare to look too much. After a busy and noisy period, I was assigned to a slightly overweight blind friend with a pace of 7 minutes.

The blind friend was just starting to run, and the speed was not fast. We ran and stopped, circling the southern park of Olympic Forest Park for 5 kilometers. During these 5 kilometers, I nervously guided him with the blind assistance rope, carefully asking him how he became blind, when he completely lost his sight, and the various impacts on his life after becoming blind. He answered each question as if reciting from memory, perhaps because he had been asked too many times and answered too many times, these topics naturally became common in his conversations.

After realizing this, I rarely asked these questions again because I thought if I had to answer the same questions repeatedly, I would be very annoyed. Overly probing into others' privacy would also seem disrespectful. Regrettably, although I met the blind friend several times later in Olympic Forest Park, I still didn't know his name.

The second time I participated in a blind assistance run was on March 7, a 'private run.' The group leader, He Yajun, happened to be running in the morning, so I volunteered to accompany him. On the day I joined the group's WeChat group, I had actually looked up some information and news about the group leader online. He is an extraordinary blind runner and philanthropist (who might also have a bit of a temper).

After meeting and running with him, the group leader appeared to have a boyish personality, running fearlessly. Although no longer young, he had the vitality of sunshine and the resilience after storms. He was very talkative, sharing stories about the group and those around him, making it easy to become a listener.

In his world, I found many things that motivated me to move forward. I discovered that besides pace and distance, there was something more worth being proud of in running: running with them out of the darkness and experiencing the whole world.

The group leader said that there are many blind friends in the group who can complete a full marathon. Cedrus is one of them. The 4th Long-distance Running Festival of the 'He Yajun Blind Assistance Group' started on April 8 at Olympic Forest Park. I was fortunate to be one of Cedrus's two guide runners. When I first saw the personnel allocation list, Cedrus's pace of 4:30 really scared me. It was quite challenging for me, who was recovering from an injury, to run at this pace, but I didn't refuse.

After becoming friends with Cedrus, I saw various running competition records in his social circle, including trail running. During our first joint training, his leg was injured, so he could only run small steps at a slow pace, but he persisted for 10 kilometers. While chatting during the run, I found that we had many similar personality traits; we would accept others' opinions on the surface but stick to our own ideas privately. I told him to rest well for his injury and suggested he stop running. Despite my advice, I knew he would still insist on running even with an injury. During our second joint training, he persisted for 15 kilometers, with his leg injury more evident than the first time, even walking part of the way.

In others' eyes, he has always been the No.1 runner in the Long-distance Running Festival. He didn't want to disappoint his supportive teammates or himself. A friend once said that persisting in good things will get better, while persisting in bad things will get worse. On the day of the Long-distance Running Festival, Cedrus, despite his injury, still managed to finish 10th in the men's group. I think Cedrus might have some regrets about this result.

After more than a month of assisting runs, I accompanied many blind friends. Because they lost their sense of sight, blind friends have no sense of distance. When they start running, they tend to run more blindly, excitedly, and with full vigor compared to those with normal vision.

I once wrote in my social circle: 'Besides running posture, the most frequently mentioned advice isdon't train yourself like an athlete or a sports specialist..Their purpose of running is different from ours; they strive for results and seek opportunities through their achievements, while we already have jobs outside of running to make a living. Their coaches and teachers put them through rigorous training because they have professional medical support teams and face fierce competition, with many substitutes waiting to take their place. Professional runners run for their team and honor, while we run purely for ourselves. Injuries affect not only our bodies but also our work. After all, for most of us, it's impossible to immediately put down work and take long-term rest for recovery after getting injured.Therefore, we need to slow down and enjoy running...

Reverence is not about encouraging sacrifice but inspiring rebirth. After experiencing rebirth, everyone becomes unbreakable.

Blind friends are only blind in their eyes, while most of us are blind in our hearts. Learning to run seriously will make you genuinely fall in love with running. The shallow experiences on the road of accompanying runs come from running with blind friends. Thank you for helping me run out of the dark areas that once lingered in my heart.

Every act of help makes our team better;

Every support makes our team stronger;

Every bit of progress gives our team more motivation;

Every blessing makes our team's path longer;

On the road of public welfare, there is you, me, and him!

Walking with love for the blind, with love, heart, and home!

We are a loving family.