Blind cross country runner sees through dad's eyes
JONESPORT, Maine -- There are six cross country meets for the Jonesport Beals Middle School team this year. Boys and girls from around Washington County travel to the Downeast school to get their best time, including one sixth grader who can't see where he's going.
12-year-old Noah Carver has been running since he was in kindergarten and has been blind since birth because of his condition called Leber's Congenital Amaurosis. When he expressed interest in running cross country his parents Richard (Buzz) and Suzanne Carver new that he couldn't do it alone. For every practice and meet this year Noah has had his dad holding his hand from start to finish.
"He's basically serving as my eyes and guiding me along," said Noah. "Whereas I'm setting the pace for everything else."
For every meet the pair run in the goal is to beat their previous finish time. Buzz doesn't think about the experience as his own, but instead looks at it as an accomplishment for the young man beside him.
"It wouldn't be any different if he was sighted. I wouldn't be any prouder of him," said Buzz.
It's not just cross country that Noah participates in. He also rides his horse Larry in competitive horse shows, downhill skis, sings in the Washington County Children's Chorus, and hiked Mount Katahdin this summer.