(NewsNation) — U.S. Army veteran and legally blind runner Rob Sanchas finished his 14th Boston Marathon, beating his personal best time.
“It’s still a shock,” Sanchas said of his experience during an appearance on “Morning in America”. “It’s an incredible feeling.”
Sanchas thanked his sighted guide, Jeremy Howard, whom he met through The Play Brigade. The pair ran side-by-side, tethered together at the waist for the 26.2 miles.
“He really helped me up my game,” Sanchas said. “You just trust in that person.”
Sanchas lost some of his vision in a bungee cord accident while serving in the U.S. Army.
The accident changed Sanchas’ life forever.
“I was in a dark place a long time ago,” Sanchas said after coming to terms with his impairment.
The legally blind 54-year-old then took up running in 2016.
“I got to the point where I just decided this, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live like this,” he said. “And shortly after I was introduced into running and for me, it was like, all the clouds, the skies just opened up.”
Sanchas said running has given him a whole new lease on life.
“It was just perfect calm,” he said. “My stress was gone. I could just be myself and feel Mother Nature, embracing me. And with all the issues that I have, they just seem so minuscule and disappeared.”
Sanchas spent the last several months preparing to run in the Boston Marathon and raised over $24,000 for a Boston-based nonprofit The Play Brigade — an organization that creates opportunities for people with disabilities of all ages to participate in sports.
“No matter what you do, don’t stop,” he said. “Take something, anything and just keep moving forward. When you’re at rock bottom, you have two choices. Stay at rock bottom or go up. I choose up.”
Watch the full interview with Rob Sanchez in the video player at the top of the page.