Gary Wade: Life as a runner and completing 503 marathons to date!

My name is Gary Wade, I live in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. I am 65 years old and I am now retired. I have been a runner for over 40 years. My favourite distance is the Marathon and to date have completed 503 marathons in total!

I am not exactly sure when my hearing loss started but it became noticeable a couple of years ago. Looking back on what I now know about hearing loss there are situations from about 8 years ago that should have warned me on what was happening.

I first noticed my hearing wasn’t great after retiring and spending more time at home. I would find I was missing conversations and even had problems hearing the television too.

But probably the worst of all was that I found I began to struggle anywhere where there was a crowd. This included shops, supermarkets, restaurants that sort of place where there were lots of people and background noise.

After struggling along by myself I finally got my hearing aids about a year ago much to my wife’s relief.

Looking back on my forty years of running, I actually first started running after watching the first London marathon. I have so far taken part in 503 marathons/ultras, completing a variety of runs including;

The Brathay 10 marathons in 10 days (10 laps of Lake Windermere) twice, The Brutal 10×10 run once, many multi day run, one 100 mile run and too many marathons around the UK, Europe and the USA to mention.

There are obviously a few things you need to be aware of as a deaf runner. Road traffic, cyclists and pedestrians being the obvious ones to be vigilant about. I am sorry to say that due to being so quiet, cyclists and the new electric cars are a pain!

I also use noise reducing ear buds when I am out and about, as I find traffic and loud noises painful.

Anyhow, the next run next up for me is Chicago which I am really  looking forward to but with a slight concern about the crowds, the American support is amazing but loud! Ear protection definitely needed.

I can’t see why any deaf person should be put off giving running a go. If you are a newbie runner my advice to you would be to say, be sure to start slowly, build up your stamina gradually and just enjoy yourself!

I know about a group of deaf parkrunners in London but I would love to see a national Deaf Running Club that could exchange stories and share information and tips online.

Are you a deaf / hard of hearing runner? Comment below if you have any links to local or national deaf running groups