Gareth Smith - Miles with Purpose

I’m Gareth, I’m husband to Rachael, father to Luke, Alex and Alice, and I’m blind.

In 2015, at the age of 36, I was diagnosed as Severely Sight Impaired (or legally blind) with a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). RP is a gradually progressive condition that primarily affects peripheral and night vision. Unfortunately, the effects can’t be reversed or stopped.

In 2021 I started to take up running and have recently completed my 3rd marathon in just less than a year. I’m certainly not going to let my disability stop me achieving new things in life. In doing so I’ve been able to raise money for Henshaws by running on their behalf a number of times.

I have also co-founded a Disability Network at my workplace to help give disabled colleagues a voice across the business where we have been nominated and won awards for the impact we have made.

I might not “look blind” (whatever that is), but you can make silly assumptions. Be a good one, gain a little awareness and learn about disabilities.