The two Utah women had been warned of hypothermia in the sub-freezing wind chills. Their ponchos clung to their soaked jackets, and their gloves dripped uselessly at their belts. The 35 mph wind gusted so ferociously that they couldn’t hear each other speak — a particular disadvantage for runners in the visually impaired division.
Pelted by rain and slogging through ankle-deep puddles, Andrews began to imagine the Braille alphabet, dot for dot, step for step. Whetsel, her guide, concentrated on finding trip hazards through sheets of rain.
The path to last week’s race in Boston was long for the Utah runners, both of whom have degenerative eye conditions.