Jason Romero sent this photo from his 3,300 mile run from L.A. to New York.

Stapleton resident and blind ultrarunner Jason Romero is running across America.
“It was a calling,” he says, remembering the moment he came up with the idea two years ago. He was assisting the homeless at Christ’s Body Ministries downtown when suddenly it clicked this is something he needs to do. “I wouldn’t really say I want to do this. I’ve had to leave my kids, my friends, the comfort of my bed, and I’m having to endure a lot of emotional and physical pain.” For the past two years he’s been training for the run.
Romero is running 50 miles a day from L.A. to New York, totaling 3,300 miles in 66 days. He’s raising money for the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, which helps blind people stay active and healthy through sports.
At age 14, Romero was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which causes progressive degeneration of the retina. Over time peripheral vision gradually decreases, sometimes leading to total blindness. There is no way to determine how quickly vision will change. About 100,000 people in the U.S. have RP, according to the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Romero has 15 percent of his eyesight left. He sees the world as though he’s looking through two toilet paper rolls. What a person with 20/20 vision sees at 400 feet, he has to be at 20 feet to see.
Many people are shocked to learn a blind man is running across the U.S. This is exactly why he decided to do it.
“I believe I have a responsibility to go and make my own life successful,” he says. “Just running across the U.S. is challenging enough, but to do it as a legally blind person, I hope it will put an exclamation point on anybody’s attempt to have a low expectation of what a blind person is capable of doing.”
According to the American Federation of the Blind, 75 percent of the estimated 4 million adults in the U.S. who are completely or partially blind do not have a job. Romero believes this is because most employers don’t understand how a blind person can do the job.
Romero started ultrarunning in 2010 and ran his first ultrarun of 40 miles to celebrate his 40th birthday.
He does not use a cane when he runs. Instead, he has detailed maps of Denver stored in his head, which include details others may not notice like curb cuts or congested traffic stops. At night, he wears a light vest for visibility and a PrincetonTec APEX headlamp, one of the brightest headlamps on the market intended for extreme outdoorsmen and cavers.
On new routes he pushes a baby stroller outfitted with headlamps. “I like to say that I look like a Christmas tree,” he says. He uses a guide for trail running at night. “Rock right!” “Root left!” or “Ravine left!” the guide calls out. “Sometimes you fall down, but you just have to get back up,” Romero says. He’s never once considered stopping running because of his blindness and encourages all blind people to continue their passions.
Park Hill resident Jarred Farris also has RP. The two met to talk about life becoming blind. “He’s an inspiration,” Farris says about Romero.
Farris was diagnosed 13 years ago but just started having significant vision loss in the past couple of years. He’s still adjusting to life visually impaired and afraid to miss watching his four young children grow up. He feels less afraid talking to Romero.
Farris asked him, “What animal on the planet runs like that? 50 miles a day blind?” Romero said, “Only human.”
To track Jason Romero’s route, visit www.visionrunusa.com/home.html.