Sensing inclusion among visually impaired and guide runners

Abstract

People with visual impairments partake in recreational running with sighted guide runners. In the Netherlands, the Running Blind foundation enables blind and visually impaired runners and their guides to experience the social and physical benefits of outdoor recreation together. While sport policies and programs in the Netherlands call for more inclusive sport practices, it is often unclear what ‘inclusion’ means for the people involved. This article explores how a sense of inclusion is constituted, experienced and reflected on within guided running. Based on three months of immersive, sensory ethnographic fieldwork in guided running, we argue that merely integrating disabled sports practitioners into mainstream, that is, ableist sporting contexts does not increase inclusion for people with different abilities. Instead, guided running ensembles challenge ‘the language of inclusion’ by showing how a sense of inclusion evolves from an empathic engagement with the environment, the people and the tethered running bodies.

Why Do We Run in a Sporting Event? A Gender Perspective through the Half-Marathon of Cordoba, Spain

“…However, increasingly, non-charitable events offer participation categories that allow for the inclusion of participants with diverse characteristics compared to the average participant (González-García et al 2022). This inclusivity extends to various domains: individuals with disabilities, underrepresentation of participants from a gender perspective, promotion of participation across all age groups, and inclusion of different ethnic, religious, or refugee groups (Benn and Dagkas 2013;Roult et al 2015;Doidge et al 2020;O'brien et al 2022;Deckman and McDonald 2023;Hiemstra and Rana 2024). However, no studies address a specific motivational dimension related to the inclusive nature of a non-charitable event.…”