Nahila Hernández Guides Triathlete Through Wings For Life World Run

A couple of months ago, Rafael, a blind Mexican triathlete, sent me a tweet that said: “My dream is to do the Marathon de Sables and for Nahila to be my guide”. I did not know him but I had a good feeling about it. In 2013 Rafael was the first blind Mexican triathlete to finish a 70.3 Ironman and in 2014 he was the first blind Latin American triathlete to finish a complete Ironman.

As I have a very special connection with the Sahara Desert, I thought this would be an amazing opportunity for me to go back and for him to fulfill his dreams. We started talking about the project and it looks very doable. We think Wings For Life World Run race, next May 8th in Zapopan, Jalisco, México will be a great opportunity for me to meet and learn how to lead him. Now that the race is close I´m very excited because it’s the first step for us to meet each other and decide whether to start training together and/or coordinate, if we want to do something bigger. To guide a blind person must not be easy, I’ve never done it and in a desert as difficult as the Sahara, in those conditions, it will be even harder!

We’re not very sure how many kilometers we will run at the Wings For Life World Run, but I downloaded the Garmin apps to my fénix 3. With these apps I will be able to see how far away the catcher car is during the race so we can adjust our pace. 

This year I will be running in August in the 7th annual La Ultra – The High, in the Himalayas. This race is considered the “World´s cruelest ultra”, it will be 222 km in less than 48 hours at almost 6,000m. I have a lot of training to do, but the Wings for Life World Run is a very meaningful race and I will run as far as Rafael and I can go together.

Want more Wings for Life World Run? Learn more about WFL here, meet our US ambassador or download Connect IQ apps to help you train.