With her guide dog by her side, this Coatesville woman is ready to take on the Philly Distance Run

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Cindy Lou Altman of Coatesville was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa three months after her wedding at age 28.

“I always say that a disability is not an end to something. Disability is a way to do things in a different way,” Altman said.

She says she wasn’t an athlete but didn’t want to give up on life and throw in the towel. So she started volunteering with the nonprofit Guiding Eyes for the Blind, which provides dogs to the blind and visually impaired for free.

“And the running guide dog program, it's the first and only guide dog school that actually have trained and extensively tested these dogs to be able to run and guide at a faster pace, rather than just guiding and walking,” she said. So, she started running.

With her husband’s support, Altman has participated in fifteen 5k races over the past 10 years.

“The independence to just to pick up your running shoes, put the harness on and go for a run is it's just amazing,” Altman said.

And now, the 55-year-old and her 4-year-old guide dog, Crystal, will run what she calls “the big race” — or, rather, the Philadelphia Distance Run .

“Because it's in Philly. It's with all these people. It's an amazing, electric audience that you're around,” she said. “I've done the 5k in Philly, the Philadelphia Distance Run twice before with human guides, and I can't wait to do it this Sunday with Crystal.”

More about Guiding Eyes For The Blind can be found on their website .