'Running is both my passion and saviour'

Simon Goodall (left) will run with the help of a sighted guide

A former Paralympian has said running is both his "passion and saviour" as he prepares to take on two half-marathons for charity.

Simon Goodall was 11 when he was told he would one day go blind due to rare, genetic eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

While at a boarding school for the visually impaired, he found a passion for goalball - something he competed at nationally before representing Great Britain at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London - before experiencing total vision loss when both of his eyes were removed.

Now a volunteer for the Derby branch of the Samaritans charity, the 55-year-old will take on the two runs with sighted guides in a bid to raise £500.

At the boarding school, Simon - from Crich in Derbyshire - said he thought he had learned a lot about what it would be like to lose his sight.

In reality, he said, it was "very difficult" - but that did not stop him from doing what he wanted.

Simon with fellow runner and guide Pascale Holden, who he said had been a "great support"

It was during his school life in the 1980s that he found a club that played goalball - a game designed specifically for athletes with visual impairments.

He went on to be accepted into the Great Britain team, competing in national and international championships before taking part in the 2012 Paralympics.

Although he eventually moved away from the sport, Simon said he remained determined to keep fit, and joined a local parkrun.

"I had a dream to run a marathon and then one day, someone in the gym foolishly told me 'oh you'll never be able to do that - you're blind'," he said.

'Life doesn't just stop'

Some years after the Paralympics, in 2017, Simon took part in a medical trial for a RP treatment, which involved having a tiny implant in his eye.

"It worked for about six months and then stopped working," he said.

The implant - which Simon said was a small chip - would "limit" him going forward.

He said it could affect magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, for example, and therefore decided to have his eye removed in 2020.

His second eye was removed in 2022, he said, and later had two false eyes fitted.

"A lot of people don't understand that life doesn't just stop because you're blind," he said.

"It is really challenging being diagnosed with anything but you do learn to cope - and that's what I do through my running."

Having found a way to face life's challenges, Simon said he wanted to "give something back" to those who might still be struggling, and became a volunteer call handler at the Derby Samaritans branch.

"There's so many people out there who've got something going on," he said.

Simon says he knows it costs money to keep "vital charities" like the Samaritans running and wanted to play his part

Speaking about becoming a volunteer, he said: "I didn't truly know what to expect when I started.

"But when you sit there and you answer the phone and you're helping people and you're listening to people, it's incredibly rewarding."

In March, Simon will compete in the Dorney Lake half-marathon in Buckinghamshire and the Bournemouth Half Marathon in a bid to raise funds.

The Derby branch has been running for more than 60 years.

"Every 10 seconds Samaritans responds to a call for help, so it's vital that the important work of the branch continues, and I just want to play my part," Simon added.

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