To be a companion at the Oslo Marathon - Karoline tells!

By: Oslo Marathon Ambassador and companion at Funkis, Karoline Steenbuch Lied.

 

You who read this are most likely a little above average fond of running. Think about it… .how happy you are to run…. the freedom it gives, how happy it makes you, just to be able to put on your shoes and get out for a walk; anywhere and anytime. You take it for granted.

This is not the case for several of those in the disabled class, called Funkis, in the Oslo Marathon. Every year, a number of visually impaired and blind people take part in the Oslo Marathon - with companions by their side. Companions they are completely dependent on both in a competitive context, and in training.

Imagine what it would have been like. To go from full freedom to slowly but surely being dependent on someone else to be able to train. How were you?

Well, I can 't say anything about that. I do not know how it was with you (although I have some idea what you're thinking right now). But I can say a little about what it is like to exercise with those who need help to exercise, and I can say a little about those who have experienced loss of sight or who have never seen anything. And what I have to say is makan for a bunch! For a fantastic group that spreads a lot of joy, humor and energy. More than in any other training context with other people, I experience. My experience is that they think little about what limitations they have, but rather focus on what opportunities they have. After all, they can run! They are self-ironic so it lasts, and jokes that they can not see. Once there was a motorist who almost drove on one of the blind people, who was walking with a cane. The driver stopped abruptly and ran out of the car, and had said to the blind man: "Sorry so much, but I did not see your cane!". When this story was told, they were all laughing to death. And I wondered how it had gone with me, if it was I who had gone there. Had the lady run over me then, since I do not walk with a cane .. ??!

They run Birken, they ride the Birkebeinerrittet. The Great Wall Marathon, no problem. It's completely raw. One year both me and my friend Håkon Gisholt participated in the Birkebeinerløpet, but I ran alone, and another person accompanied him. He beat me in time (and I was "after all" only 20 seconds away from the mark in my class), and I tried twice. Håkon, who hardly sees, does not try once. It is simply incredibly inspiring to run with this gang. They have given me so much. Every time I put on my running shoes and go out on my own, I think of my friends who can not do this - and then I appreciate my running a little extra. And I appreciate even more doing something I have always taken for granted.

What is it really like to accompany, is a question I often get from friends. It all started about 5 years ago when I read a small ad in Aftenposten, where they were looking for companions for the Holmenkoll relay. I felt an immediate call. And since then I have been active in the escort community, and have experienced a number of fantastic races - everything from magical and metropolitan New York marathons, to the popular Holmenkoll relay and the folk festival Oslo Marathon. And I have accompanied infinitely many kilometers in training - both with sneakers and on skis, where I have seen much more than when I am out alone. When accompanying, it is good to describe the surroundings, both so that the practitioner can form a picture of what it looks like around us, but also to be predictable. "In a hundred meters there will be a steep uphill, which is about 50 meters long." I can not walk with my nose down the hill as I usually do. I have to look around, observe, describe and explain. And together we smell, and we listen - senses I use to a much lesser extent when I am on a trip alone.

Is not it tiring to accompany, ask friends. Yes, it can certainly be tiring. You talk and communicate a lot, and you have to be "on" all the time. Because you can not just slip past a boom that suddenly appears around the corner, or appear when some twigs are about to hit you in the forehead, then you have to say goodbye in good time and be a guide without too much jerking and nibbling. So you have to keep up with the class, all the time! And furthermore, you really only use one arm, if the one you are running with looks very bad, and you hold the same stick. It is tiring, especially for the shoulder, and it is tiring not to be able to use the arm to a very large extent while running. But I can run after all! And I can see!

Accompanying gives so much joy, profit and energy. I call it win-win. I get to do something meaningful, enjoyable and social, and I achieve that while pursuing my big hobby. Luxury! And the other gets trained, and also gets to pursue his great hobby. I recommend everyone to try it to be a helping hand. The more we are, the more those who need help get trained. And hopefully it will make you appreciate your running trips, which you have always taken for granted.

In the Oslo Marathon, I and former top sprinter Quincy Douglas will accompany together in 10 for Grete. Hope to see you!

If you would like to be a companion, you can contact team leader in Team RP, Håkon Gisholt at hakongis@gmail.com .

 

 

 

MONICA
GUTUEN

AMBASSADOR

Age: 45

Residence: Bærum

Distance during the BMW Oslo Marathon 2020:
I run half, and of course aim to have the widest smile all the way.

Previous participation in the Oslo Marathon:
«10 for Grete» 2013, Half Marathon 2014 and 2015, 2017 and 2018 and marathon in 2019.

Three words that describe me:
Outgoing, Smiling, Energetic

Instagram: @muddylicious