‘Everything is possible, it’s just about determination’: The running couple with a difference
Nauzika and Peter Habermayer are a running couple with a difference. In 2002, a few years before she moved to Ireland from Hungary, Nauzika developed Coats’ disease, an eye condition that caused her to lose all her vision in just a few months.
But she has never let that hinder her sporting ambitions. Tomorrow Nauzika will run a leg of the team relay at the Irish Examiner Cork City Marathon to raise money for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, with husband Peter alongside her every step of the way...
Q: How difficult is it to run a race like this while tethered to another person?
It might be different for every guide and runner, but by now we are so used to it that it’s not so difficult. For many years I’ve been walking with my wife and telling her when the footpath is changing or something like that, so when it came to running, it was relatively easy.
The key challenge is that Nauzika has a shorter stride than me, so instead of me running at my own pace and stride length, I shorten it and pick up her rhythm, mirror her steps so we can move the connected arms the same way. The arms are important for balance and that’s the one challenge as a guide — if you can do that for the runner, it makes it easier. I try to let her control the pace, then I follow her movement.
The most difficult part is changing direction, so Peter giving me instructions ahead of time is important. He’ll tell me if the road is about to go up or down, left or right, and sometimes if there’s a hole coming it can be: “One, two, three, jump!”
Q: When you lost your sight, how long did it take to adapt in terms of daily life?
It started in May 2002, and in the summer months the deterioration occurred and I was in different hospitals in Budapest. In October they told me it was the final stage, full blindness, and then in January 2003 I started a three-month special rehabilitation course for people who lose their sight as adults.
They teach you the basic things of daily life like how to cook, how to walk with a cane. A teacher came to our home in Douglas and taught me how to get from the house to my children’s school. They are in St. Luke’s in Douglas and I’m OK now to do the school runs with them. The NCBI (National Council for the Blind of Ireland) has also been a big help.
Q: How long have you been running together?
We started after the kids were born, so about 10 years ago. Back then it was just to get some exercise, purely for our health. We did some runs with friends, the Women’s Mini Marathon, and then we did the Cork City Marathon in the team relay.
It wasn’t as part of a visually impaired team, just with Nauzika’s friends. Since they changed the race to a Sunday and changed the route there are more small streets and turns, with a few speed bumps, so it’s a bit more difficult for visually impaired runners, but it is still doable.
Q: So you have good experience of racing it in the past?
Yes, we did the relay a few times before but this is the first year we have a full visually impaired team — all five runners. We’ll be on the second leg, which is 5.4 miles.
Q: How often do you run together?
We usually do one run together each week — the Saturday parkrun in Ballincollig. For a while we had a treadmill to do more runs, and I do some other training at work.
It was at the Ballincollig parkrun that we met Proinnsias O’Keeffe, who was a volunteer guide runner. He told us how they train people to be guides and he provided a lot of help. Before we would run together with a small towel around our arms, but they had a better solution with something to put around the wrist.
Q: How long have you been living in Cork?
We came in 2005. We met in Hungary and got engaged before we came. At the time we had both started to learn English and we wanted to get work experience abroad so we decided to move. The Irish were nice, very friendly, and I found a really good job with Apple in Cork so we decided to stay.
Q: And you have two children?
Yes, Livia and David. They are nine and 10, and will be out on the course on Sunday. They’re in the Rising Sun School of Karate which will be helping at one of the water stations in Mahon Point.
Q: Some who lose their sight might think it’s easier — and safer — not to participate in sport. What message would you send to them, given your experience?
It’s really to just decide to go and try. If someone wants to try a sport, you can find help to do it no matter what. There are great organisations that support these activities and people like Proinnsias from Ballincollig, who are willing to volunteer.
After you lose your sight, there are things you have to do differently, but also many things you can do the same. Before I lost my vision, I had just started to learn how to ski and after, we went back and tried it again — we were able to do it. Peter just went behind me and there was no rope or anything, just him giving instructions.
Everything is possible, it’s just about determination, whether it’s swimming, cycling or gymnastics. I often do callisthenics on my own with instructions from a tape. Really, you need to just be brave and start it.
Q: What is your hope for Sunday’s race?
To have fun, first of all.
In the parkrun I do around 30 minutes for 5K, so that’s my current level. I’ll try to keep that up. Since last year we improved a lot, so I’d like to run under 50 minutes for the 5.4 miles.
