A PEEBLES woman is set to pound the pavements this Sunday in the Great Scottish Run.

But the city of Glasgow will be somewhat blurry as Sarah Keen is running it 'blind'.

As if running a 10k isn’t hard enough, Sarah has shown she is keen by name and nature as she attempts the run visually impaired to raise money for two charities close to her heart.

Sarah hopes the “coloured blobs” won’t get in the way of completing the event in aid of DEBRA and the Macular Society, both of which are working towards finding cures for Epidermolysis Bullosa and Macular Disease.

She told us: “I am so fortunate that at the end of the run, I can put glasses back on to correct my vision. Two of my friends suffer with no such quick fix as they are affected by these conditions which have no current cures. Any money I raise will go into vital research into finding cures.”

Sarah explained that her best friend’s 11-year-old daughter Isla Grist has bravely lived with Recessive Dystrophic EB, a genetic condition which affects the skin causing painful blistering over the whole body, internally and externally.

“Sometimes Isla has whole days where she is unable to open her eyes, affecting her time at school and with friends.”

At the age of 50, Sarah’s friend Charles Cormack has been diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, which is causing him partial sight-loss.

“I would love cures to be found to prevent this suffering for both Isla and Charles,” said Sarah.

When asked how training was going and if she had experienced any stumbles, Sarah replied: “I’m quite comfortable with the running side of things, however I am nervous about running it blind.”

When she throws on her running gear, the glasses are left behind as she trains in Haylodge Park with her dad, Mike McGrath as her guide.

“Surprisingly finding my footing whilst running without glasses was fine, I just kind of trusted putting one foot in front of the other and didn’t trip or slip at all,” said Sarah. “The difficult part was not being able to judge distance or perceptions of the coloured blobs (people) around me.

“I could see someone on a bike in the distance, but couldn’t tell how far away they were or if they were coming towards or going away from me.

“We did laps of the park. I realised that a black blob, which I thought was a person on my first time passing, was still there on the next lap. It then dawned on me it was actually a bin.”

Sarah said she is most nervous about negotiating obstacles given the sheer volume of participants.

But who can a daughter count on more than her father. “I’m glad to be running beside my dad. At least I do fully trust him to keep me safe,” added Sarah.

To sponsor Sarah please visit her fundraising page https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/sarahkeen1