Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: how loss of vision gave blind marathon runner chance to live a second life
- Inti Fu, founder of NGO Running in the Dark, went blind at age 26 and says she sank into depression but the sport helped her turn her life around
- She has been recommended for the Spirit of Perseverance award, which honours those who overcome personal challenges to succeed
Inti Fu Tai-fan is grateful that running has lighted up her darkest moments.
The Hong Kong resident, who was diagnosed with chronic glaucoma and later lost her sight at the age of 26, recalled that she once sank into deep depression because of her vision loss.
“I was very sad,” she said. “I felt like my life was already over before it had really begun.”
The mood of melancholy persisted until Fu got her first taste of running in 2008.
“The sport turned my life around,” she said. “Running is such good fun.”
She enjoys every moment of racing as well as training, and is known as the first completely blind female runner to finish a marathon in Hong Kong.
Over the years, the avid runner has completed five of the six major world marathons. She aims to finish the London Marathon – the remaining one – by 2023.
Fu said marathons helped her to build self-confidence after she became blind.
“I used to feel I was useless,” she said.
The athlete said she now believed anyone could overcome the challenges brought by their own physical impairments to pursue their dreams like she did.
“There’s always a way,” she said. “There’s no excuse [for not trying].”
Hong Kong man with cerebral palsy uses IT background to help others with disabilities
Noting that people living with visual impairments faced many challenges in life, the runner said she was keen to use her own experiences to help her peers.
In 2012, she had a try at the guide dog service and was among the first group of Hongkongers to use one of the animals as their mobility aid. She wrote a book the following year on herself and her guide dog Nana, with a view to promoting the service in the city.
She drew her inspiration from her own experiences and founded NGO Running in the Dark. Through organising life education talks and sessions that help people experience darkness, she aims to promote positivity and inclusion in the community.
“I want to sow the seeds in students to help them develop empathy so that they can help people in need in the future,” Fu added.
Hong Kong mother with Parkinson’s disease gives hope to other patients
She also helped people living with visual impairment by hiring them as speakers at these events.
“We would pay them a fair wage as a token of respect and appreciation,” she said.
Fu’s work earned her a nomination in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards.
Tommy Chan Tsz-kit, a guide runner, recommended Fu for the Spirit of Perseverance award, which honours individuals who overcame personal challenges to succeed.
Fu said she was thankful that her loss of vision had given her an opportunity to live a second life.
“I feel happy as I am able to give back,” she said. “I lost my eyesight, but I see more.”
Record-breaking Hong Kong blood donors appeal to others to give the gift of life
Fu said she and her husband Chris Lo Chiu-kit had found common ground in running together.
“Chris is my guide,” Fu said. “Whenever we finish a race together, we will be thrilled and the mutual feelings often last for a whole month.”
Added Lo: “My wife is my motivation for running. And I will always support her.”
