Avid runner, man with vision loss complete half marathon together

MINNEAPOLIS — A unique bond quickly grew between an ultramarathon runner and a beginner who needed a little help to get started.
Michael Fuller and Mahesh Mathew are finding purpose on Twin Cities running paths together. Fuller is Mathew’s guide. 
Running was something Mathew thought about starting for his seeing eye dog, Vino.
“He always works for me, you know, like he has been guiding me. I thought I should get into running, just so that he also gets exercise. I also get exercise,” Mathew said.
So Michael and Mahesh set a schedule and got going. 
“First two weeks was three minutes running one minute walk, three minutes running one minute walk. And then we did a nice progression, build from there,” Mathew said.
“At any given time I’m ready to run at least a marathon. So like, how can I use my legs to give back and something that I’m passionate about, and how running can be therapy for the mind and then therapy for the body as well,” Fuller said.
They began working toward a goal: a half marathon.
“I didn’t know about 5k or 10k at that time, so only thing I knew about was marathon,” Mathew said.
Mathew has kept putting one foot in front of the other in life too. He lost his sight following a car accident, 6 months after getting his MD in internal medicine in India. 
“It’s totally different from living all these years in with vision and sudden, having to learn everything, relearn learn everything. The hardest part for me was to first, you know, stop worrying about what happened, because it’s very hard to get over that pain of loss,” Mathew said.
Moving forward is what Mathew has chosen to do ever since. He came to Minnesota to see experts at Mayo Clinic. And got involved with programs at Courage Kenny. 
“I had no choice, I had to figure out ways to get over the barriers,” Mathew said.
Running with Fuller is just one more way he’s doing that. He finished a half marathon months after starting their training. 
“It’s a small achievement, but I felt really good about it,” Mathew said.
“Mahesh, is like we both played a part in it, right? To experience it, hand in hand, every step it’s it was, it was definitely a bond,” Fuller said.
They’re choosing to try new things.
“If you want to do something, you there’s always ways to do it, you know, like you’re, you just try to figure it out,” Mahesh said.
Along the way, teaching each other the meaning of pushing boundaries.
“Mahesh, I think you’ve opened my eyes to like, I used believe that anything is possible, but I do believe that even more so now,” Fuller said.
The running partners are working on their next goal: to complete a trail run.
Mahesh is in school at the University of Minnesota, working on his PhD in cardiovascular epidemiology. He should graduate in the spring and wants to get a job in research.