Ring and Run: The Bell, The Shoes, and a Blind Runner
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Only the eyes are blind, the heart still sees beauty
It senses through scent and sound beneath the shade of trees.
Every evening in Lumpini Park, you might notice a man walking slowly with a cane before breaking into a steady run accompanied by the soft jingle of a bell tied to his wrist.
That man is “Uncle Joe,” age 57, who has been blind for more than a decade yet continues running every day after work.
The short documentary Ring and Run: Life of a Blind Runner captures his story with striking depth in just five minutes, shedding light on an often overlooked truth about cities and the freedom of people with visual impairments in Thailand.
The most moving part of this documentary is not about how hard it is for a blind person to run.
It is about how hard it is just to get to the starting point.
While Uncle Joe’s guide runner takes only 10 minutes to reach Lumpini Park, Uncle Joe himself needs 50 — five times longer — to travel the same 6-kilometer distance from work.
He must transfer between buses, the BTS Skytrain, and walk through uneven and obstructed sidewalks.
These challenges reflect a city infrastructure that was never designed with blind people in mind.
Uneven steps, shifting levels, cluttered walkways, missing tactile paving — all create a journey that is exhausting long before the run even begins.
And this is not just his personal struggle.
Research in Thailand shows that over 60% of visually impaired adults face difficulty traveling independently and performing basic daily activities, directly due to inaccessible public spaces and unfriendly transportation systems.
National surveys also estimate that 0.59% of Thailand’s population is blind, with another 1.57% living with low vision — numbers that make it clear this is not a small or invisible group.
In society at large, Thailand has around 800,000 people with disabilities, yet only about 50,000 receive formal employment. These figures point to the structural gaps that still need to be bridged, and the need for safer physical and emotional spaces.
On the running path, Uncle Joe and his guide runner, Wanwan, tie their wrists together with a small rope.
What looks tiny carries enormous meaning — trust, compassion, and a shared humanity.
The documentary team revealed on stage at #VIPAFilmFest2025 that even they struggled to keep up with Uncle Joe during filming.
mera crew is exhausted, how strong, disciplined, and resilient must he be to navigate a world he cannot see?
Ring and Run is not merely the story of one blind runner.
It is a portrait of a country still unprepared for physical diversity.
The bell that jingles as he runs is a reminder — blind people should not have to be exceptionally capable just to live an ordinary life.
It is the city that should be ordinary enough for everyone.
Sometimes, starting is far more important than what you do.
Even on days when the city feels unkind, Uncle Joe still chooses to make his way to the park.
Even when no guide runner shows up, he still comes — simply because he wants to run.
Determination, after all, carries its own power.
Beauty lives in the heart, not the eyes
A beautiful mind sees the world in gentle light.
Watch the award-winning short documentary
“Ring and Run: Life of a Blind Runner”
Winner of the #VIPAPitchingProject2025
▶️ https://vipa.me/th/watch/14544
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References
- BioMed Central
- Thai Journal Online
- United Nations Development Programme
- Nation Thailand
About Author
Oakland Krist
a pop culturist who breathes it like air | a storyteller with pretty much still in the making | a little poetic but absurd at the same time
