Visually-impaired runner competing in Kona Marathon with goal to help others deal with vision loss

Marri Murdoch prepares for every marathon the same way she does for her life, training for distance, focusing on her personal goal and preparing for the unknown. But unlike most competitors, Murdoch is visually impaired.

She can only see what is immediately in front of her.

On Saturday, she will run the Kona Marathon in an effort to encourage other visually impaired people living on the Big Island.

“The first marathon with my visual impairment was about reaching fitness goals, but now it’s about inspiring others to get out there and accomplish dreams of their own,” Murdoch said. “It took me a long time to get to a place where I felt hopeful and that I didn’t have to just cope with my life anymore.”

In 2017, Murdoch, a Minnesota native, suffered a stroke and was diagnosed with homonymous hemianopsia, which caused her to lose all of her left peripheral vision. She calls it being “half blind.”

“I thought losing my vision was the end of my life, the end of my world,” Murdoch said. “I had always been athletic and enjoyed fitness, but it felt completely out of my reach. For three years, I felt lost in the dark, isolated and disconnected.”

In 2022, Murdoch moved to Oʻahu and decided to challenge herself to run. Although she couldn’t go a couple of miles without walking, she felt that spark of joy that she had not felt in five years.

“For the first time, I felt empowered and realized that I could rejoin life again,” Murdoch said. “I ended up connecting with a neighbor who became my running coach. He helped train me for my first 10K and then my first half-marathon. At some point, I forgot I couldn’t see.”

When she began training for a full marathon, Murdoch realized she was still visually impaired and needed to find guides before running a marathon. While she has a regular guide on Oʻahu, she found Eric Helms to guide her in Kona through a running group on social media.

“Running with a guide means constant verbal communication,” Murdoch said. “The most important needs are when there is a turn coming up, or we need to weave through people.

“We also are able to just chat about whatever is going on with our lives. You are tethered together, so no one can separate you, which is very important and helps make me feel safe.”

This is the first time Murdoch has had a guide that she has not met in person first. However, they have been in constant contact and are looking forward to meeting before the race.

“We are excited to show everyone involved with the marathon that having a runner with a guide is a possibility for most races,” Murdoch said.

Since she began training again, Murdoch has run the 2024 Honolulu Marathon, the 2025 Maui Marathon, and the 2025 Honolulu Islandsathon. Now, she is ready to take on the Kona Marathon on July 4.

“My coach helps me choose the races I take on every year so I can best stay healthy and injury-free. There has to be enough time to recover,” Murdoch said. “However, I am trying to participate in one neighbor island race a year because it’s the best way to inspire other visually impaired people to get out there and find ways to build their strength and confidence.”

After Murdoch ran the Honolulu Marathon and felt that accomplishment, she began rebuilding her life around athletics and advocacy.

“When someone loses vision, it can feel like their world shrinks, but I want people to know that life can still be active, connected, meaningful, and full of possibility,” Murdoch said. “There is a spark of excitement that comes when you realize life doesn’t stop after vision loss; it’s a whole new chapter waiting to be written.”

In 2024, Murdoch started Travel Visions Aloha for the Blind, a nonprofit that is working to illuminate the world for the visually impaired community. Through structured outdoor activities, the organization addresses isolation and diminished physical health, improving the quality of life for all participants.

Travel Visions Aloha has served more than 175 blind and visually impaired individuals and trained more than 220 volunteers on Oʻahu.

“After regaining my own empowerment, I wanted to create opportunities for others to explore the world and to rediscover oneself,” Murdoch said. “On Oʻahu, we’ve been able to make a difference and help the visually impaired community feel valued, capable and connected. I want to bring that to the neighbor islands.”

Last year, Murdoch visited the Maui Vision Impairment and Blindness Education and Peer Support Group, which served 10 to 20 visually impaired people at the time. But its just a small percentage of the 2,000 to 2,500 legally blind and visually impaired individuals living in Maui County, according to the Hawaiʻi State Blind Register.

“I visited one of the only support groups and they couldn’t reach the majority of blind or visually impaired individuals living on Maui to no fault of their own,” Murdoch said. “After talking with the group and teachers of the visually impaired last year, we are now in serious conversation to get Travel Visions Aloha Maui chapter.”

While on the Big Island, Murdoch has plans to speak to some teachers of the visually impaired as well as members of the National Federation of the Blind Kona chapter. She will spend the visit sharing the resources that have helped her and encouraging greater connection within the blind and visually impaired community.

“Right now, we are looking for community partners, volunteers, and any support that can help visually impaired and blind people on every island,” Murdoch said. “I’m also hoping to get the word out that there are resources out there and people who are going through similar experiences. No one has to feel alone.”

While there are support groups and services for visually impaired and blind individuals on the Big Island, they do not offer opportunities for activities or different experiences. For example, Ho‘opono Services for the Blind provides vocational rehabilitation services, job maintenance support, job placement assistance, business enterprise programs, assistance with support service applications, low vision clinics, transition youth services, and a support group for older individuals who are blind.

On Oʻahu, Travel Visions Aloha for the Blind offers inclusive, sensory experiences. This year, the group has gone on its third annual whale-watching event, visited the Honolulu Museum of Art, participated in indoor rock climbing, and hiked to Waimea Valley on the North Shore.

The organization also hosts a monthly run club for people of all skill levels. The run club allows blind and visually impaired participants to pair with a guide to run or walk through a park on Oʻahu.

“We recently had someone I met on Maui join us on an excursion because he had just moved to Oʻahu,” Murdoch said. “He ended up being the happiest man I’ve ever talked to at the end of the day. He felt excited about life and was reminding me of all the feelings I felt when I first started to run again. To hear that feedback, it is heartwarming and reminds me why I do what I do.

“I want to bring that joy to every visually impaired person living in Hawaiʻi. I hope I can get the wheels turning in Kona while I’m there.”

To learn more about Murdoch’s work and upcoming events on Oʻahu, visit the Travel Visions Aloha for the Blind website.