Blind NJ Woman Running the Boston Marathon Monday

EDISON, NJ - Edison native Stephanie Zundel – who has been blind since age 3 – is running the 121st Boston Marathon on Monday. She finished in 5:09:55, according to official results.

It's the first time Zundel has run the Boston Marathon, considered among the world's most difficult, but it's not her first long-distance race: Last November, she finished the New York City Marathon in 4 hours, 50 minutes, qualifying her for the Boston event. The Boston Marathon started at 8:50 a.m. this morning.

Zundel, 22, is able to race because she runs with guides, volunteer runners who run alongside her and direct her where to go, watch out for potholes, twists in the road and so on. Amy Harris and Harvey Freeman, from the Nashville chapter of Achilles International, an organization that assists people with disabilities, are her guides. That's Zundel with Harris above during the New York City marathon.

“I lock elbows with Amy or Harvey and off we go,” said Zundel. “Disabilities do not disable a person. Disabilities enable us to accomplish our goals in a different way. There’s always another way. In fact, it motivates me to achieve more,” she said of her blindness.

Zundel is the daughter of Charles Zundel, a 17-year Edison police officer, who said he is "extremely proud" of his daughter.

Click here for full Patch coverage of the Boston Marathon

“Nothing stops my daughter. Nothing sets her back,” he said. “Stephanie has been that way since childhood, making my wife Kimberly and I extremely proud each step of the way.”

Stephanie will join other runners who have disabilities in the race today. Among the 30,000-plus participants running the Boston Marathon, there are a few hundred mobility-impaired athletes. Some, like Stephanie, are blind; others use crutches, hand-cycles and push-rim wheelchairs.

Stephanie has never let her blindness hold her back. She is already a black belt in karate. She is also an avid boxer and she often works out at a kickboxing gym in Nashville, Tn., where she’s an honors undergrad at Vanderbilt University. At the urging of friends, Zundel ran her first road race – Nashville’s Country Music half-marathon – as a college sophomore. Since then, she has run in various 5K, 10K and 15K events.

But the Boston Marathon will be her most challenging test yet. The Boston Marathon is considered one of the country’s more difficult races, as it runs through eight hilly Massachusetts cities and towns.

She can't wait for the challenge, Zundel said.

“On Friday, I defended my honors thesis. Saturday I’m flying to Boston and on Monday, I’m running in the Boston Marathon. So, this a really exciting time for me,” said Zundel. She will graduate in May with a Bachelor’s degree in child studies and begins work this Fall toward her Master’s degree in school counseling at Vanderbilt.

Edison PBA Local 75 is helping to defray her travel expenses, and Edison Mayor Thomas Lankey plans to honor Zundel with a proclamation for her achievements.

“I’ve known Stephanie most of her life. She was an Edison Junior Police Academy cadet when I was an instructor,” PBA President Michael Schwarz. “She is an inspiration to anyone who knows her, including me and my family.”

“I cannot think of a more amazing young person to represent Edison Township in the Boston Marathon. When Stephanie sets her mind to something, she is unstoppable,” said Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan. Chief Bryan has known Zundel since she was 10 and she actually was first introduced to martial arts at the karate school he runs in Edison.

All photo credits: Achilles International, Nashville