2nd Annual Blindfold 5k to be held July 4; pre-registration ends June 15

Pre-registration for the second annual “Lights Out Blindfolded 5k race” in Corbin will end next Wednesday — an event organized to raise awareness of the needs of people with disabilities.

The race will be held at Corbin Primary School on July 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Runners can go online to www.travisfreeman.org for a link to register for the race, or can call Mary Freeman at Central Baptist Church at 606-528-6650.

Cost is $20 for runners who pre-register by June 15, and $25 thereafter.

Dr. Travis Freeman, the main organizer of the event, said the race is a good way for people to better appreciate the challenges those with disabilities, particularly blindness, face in their everyday lives.

“We want to take people out of their comfort zones and make them think more about what it means to be visually impaired, but more generally just what it means to have a disability,” he said.

Freeman, an ordained minister and adjunct professor of religion at the University of the Cumberlands, lost his sight in middle school. His fight to overcome the hurdles that naturally came with sudden blindness were the subject of the feature-length film “23 Blast” and his autobiography “Lights Out: Living in a Sightless World.” He is also president and CEO of The Freeman Foundation — an organization he created to promote the needs and potential of people with disabilities.

Runners compete in the race in teams of two. One runs half of the race blindfolded while their partner guides them, and then they switch roles.

The event was held last year in both Corbin and Versailles. Freeman said 62 people ran in last year’s Corbin version of the Blindfold 5k, and he’s hoping to top 75 participants this time around.

“I think people really enjoyed it last year. No one got injured or anything like that. People just find it challenging and they have a good time with it,” Freeman said.

All participants will received a t-shirt and race bag.

Proceeds from the event go to benefit The Freeman Foundation.