'I see running as another way of helping people'

He is a teacher by trade but a keen runner outside work, and now Sam Ostermeyer wants to take his love of helping people to the next level.

Mr Ostermeyer trained to be a guide runner for blind athletes in 2019, inspired by his mum, a retired teacher of the visually impaired.

Now, more than five years later, the Shrewsbury runner has his first race as a guide in March, and is encouraging anyone interested to try the training.

"I love running, it's my escape… I get to do that, and it's a different way of running," he said. "You get the enjoyment out of it knowing that you can help someone that hopefully you're giving confidence to."

"The guide runner is essentially there to be the eyes and the ears for the runner, so your job is to give them instructions to help them navigate around the course, be aware of obstacles that they may come across.

"Another one is a change of terrain, so some races will go from tarmac, to grass, to soft land, and it's really important they are able to anticipate that and know that's coming up."

The training, completed with England Athletics, involves attending a sight loss awareness and guide running workshop, along with safeguarding and first aid training.

"You go along, learn about what you need to do, and then you actually go out and do the practical, which is donning some blindfolds, working together and actually having a good old practice," said Mr Ostermeyer.

"Then it's just a case of keeping up on techniques and keeping yourself refreshed."

He is one of six registered guide runners in his local running club, the Shropshire Shufflers.

"We went and did a local Shrewsbury parkrun a few months back, where we blindfolded each other and we practised," he said.

"It's really important to understand what it's like for the visually impaired runner that you're guiding as well."

"Communication is the key, and having that confidence as well."

"You want to share that confidence with the visually impaired runner that you're running with.

"The quality is knowing the person you're running with and talking to that person about what their impairment is and how they'd like to be guided, because you're doing it for that person and not yourself."

"One of the best ways of communicating, I find actually, is through touch, not actually saying anything - it's through making contact with those arms," he said.

"You can communicate just by nudging someone slightly to the left, sometimes that's much easier than trying to give really detailed instructions, which actually might confuse.

"I see running as another way of helping people," he said.

Mr Ostermeyer is in contact with a man from Cannock, and they have pencilled in the Wolverhampton 10k in 2025, which he said he was looking forward to as his first event as a guide.

He said anyone interested in learning how to be a guide should do it.

"It's a great way of helping people, the running community is brilliant," he said.

"There's no negativity in the running community whatsoever and actually, this is a really positive way that you can still do your run and actually help other people to experience that community as well."

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