Paralympic Guide Running
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Sam Parr shares a story about discovering Paralympic guide running and his aspirations to participate after watching an inspiring video.
"I was sitting in the bath on Sunday, just chilling going through Instagram, and I got this video of this lady from Germany and a guy running together on a 200-meter race at the Paralympics. She's blind and he's the guide runner. They win the race and they start hugging and she's crying.
In the Paralympics, they put a blindfold on everyone because some people might be legally blind but could still see a little bit. These women are really fast, so they need male guides because they need someone who can keep up. The guide helps their foot into the blocks, puts their hand in the right place, and runs alongside them stride for stride. They'll say things like 'you're in 2nd now' or 'you're in 1st' or 'we're on the straightaway.'
I'm still fast enough that I can keep up with some of these blind women - I can run 23 seconds right now. I'm not good enough to go to the Olympics, I never was, and particularly now as I get older. But this is my shot - this is my way to get into the Olympics, to be a guide runner for a blind lady. I've contacted a track coach about it."
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.