Running is Brian Cannavina’s release.
He runs to de-stress. He runs to stay healthy. And he runs to be part of a community.
Most recently, Cannavina finished the Boston Marathon — his third marathon in the last five years. Running a marathon is no easy feat; running 26.2 miles wasn’t always on Cannavina’s radar as a person with a disability.
Cannavina, from Morris Plains, NJ, has a rare genetic disorder called Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS). Bardet Biedl is a condition that impacts multiple body systems. For Cannavina, the syndrome has caused intellectual disabilities. He also lost most of his eyesight and has struggled with obesity and weight loss throughout his life.
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, 90 percent of people with BBS are typically born with a healthy weight but gain weight quickly within their first year of life.
This was the case for Cannavina.
“I started running for weight management, and then as I grew older, I lost a lot of weight,” Cannavina said. “I went to a special high school, and my coach got me involved in 5Ks (3.1 miles), and that’s when I really started to like running.”
Cannavina got involved in extracurricular running programs like the Special Olympics. At first, he said, he lagged significantly behind his teammates.
“The goal for many of my races was to try and stay with the pack for as long as I could,” he said. “If I was able to stay with the pack for, like, maybe 400 or 500 yards, that was considered a good race.”
Eventually, he got stronger and faster, and Cannavina was craving more. He wanted to run longer; he wanted to run marathons. But the organizations he was a part of didn’t offer programs or assistance in that world, and Cannavina just about gave up on his dream.
And then the pandemic struck, and all of Cannavina’s running programs were closed. A few months in, a friend told him about a nonprofit called Achilles NJ, a chapter of Achilles International that pairs disabled athletes and guides to promote personal achievement through running.
Cannavina went to a few practices and was hooked.
“I knew this was something I was going to like,” he said.
Achilles NJ was founded in 2018 by Joseph Sorbanelli after the athletes and guides from Achilles NY inspired him at the 2017 New York City marathon. Since then, the local chapter has gained 200 members, including athletes and guides.
“We encourage our athletes to compete in at least one race per month, and we meet twice-a-week for team workouts,” Sorbanelli said. “The mission of Achilles New Jersey is to enable people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream running events to promote personal achievement. While our programs focus on running, the truth is, running is simply the tool for accomplishing our main objective: to bring hope, inspiration, and the joys of achievement to all.”
Elisheva Jasie, a guide with Achilles NJ since the fall of 2019, found the organization by accident. But once she discovered the nonprofit, she never ran a marathon on her own again.
Jasie, of Teaneck, NJ, was running the 2018 New York City marathon. On her way to the race, her transportation plans changed. A friend told her to go to a specific location where she’d find a group she could travel with to the race.
When she arrived, she found dozens of athletes with disabilities and guides waiting for her.
“I just really loved the vibe there, and then I went on the bus with the athletes, I went into the tent, and it became very apparent to me that this is where I felt like I belonged,” she said.
From then on, Jasie began racing with Achilles as a guide — more specifically — she guided Cannavina through three marathons, including the most recent they did together in Boston.
Typically, during the marathon, Jasie runs to the right of Cannavina, and another guide runs to the left. Because of his low vision, they guide him through the race. Sometimes, depending on the race, they will have more than two guides and box Cannavina in so no other runner bumps into him, and he can have his own space.
“I will call out when we should be turning. And we’ll try to highlight the milestones in terms of the miles we’re reaching or things on the course,” Jasie said.”When we have other guides with us, it’s really great because they can call out ‘visually impaired runner,’ so people give us a little bit more bandwidth.”
But once the logistics of the run are squared away, there is nothing but feet pounding the pavement and sweaty people having the time of their lives.
Since he began running, Cannavina has increased his time exponentially. Now, he runs an average of an 8-9:00 minute mile. Cannavina’s next feat to conquer is the New York City Marathon in November.
As for Achilles, they have begun assisting some athletes in completing other goals, like triathlons and even an ultra-marathon (50-100K).
“I just want people to know that Achilles is a joyful community of belonging. And people can sometimes look at it as, like, a support organization. And maybe it’s that, but if it is — it’s there to support everyone,” Jasie said. “It’s support for our guides and support for our athletes. And it’s just a community where you can really show up and be yourself.”
“I wouldn’t have these opportunities without something like Achilles,” Cannavina said. “Many other sports organizations for people with disabilities don’t do marathons.
“If I didn’t have Achilles, I wouldn’t have run these marathons. It’s given me a lot of opportunities.”