She once stated, “If I break a national record, maybe they will stop writing about my eyes.” (LaFontaine 288). She showed people that even though they are blind, they do not have to stop doing what they love. Runyan loves to compete in track and field events, and she did not stop just because she was blind. After contracting Stargardt’s, she also showed people that it is possible to live a normal life, even with blindness (Abbey 92). To sum up, Mary Runyan is an Olympic runner who never gave up on her dream, even when she was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease and became legally blind. She wanted people to remember her, not because she was a blind runner, but because she was a runner who put forward her best effort into every task she did. Runyan is a perfect paradigm for showing people that they can do anything the put their mind to.
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