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This past April, blind British runner Mark Rogerson and his guide, Katie Garrity, both of whom are UIS members, earned their 6th star, completing all of the Major Marathons with Boston.

Katie, a Chicago native, shared with us an overview of the experiences she and Mark have had together:

“Mark Rogerson and I connected in 2018 when he was coming from the UK to run the Chicago Marathon. I had made an account on United in Stride shortly before he reached out. We ran the Chicago marathon together, and we really hit it off during the race. Afterwards, he reached out about running more together! We ran the Berlin and New York marathons in 2019, London in 2021 (we were supposed to run 2020 but were delayed due to covid). After that, we ran the Athens Marathon in 2023 where we ran a Boston-qualifying time! We lucked out with the Tokyo Marathon in March 2024 and then ran Boston six weeks later in April 2024. It has been a wild ride and so much fun to travel the world together! Through the ups and downs of marathon running and training we’ve become close friends with a truly unique and special bond.”

Their incredible journey was featured in Majors Magazine. You can read their Majors Magazine article here.

They also appeared on the Marathon Talk Podcast in their lead-up to Boston to discuss their preparation, partnership, and goals for the sixth star. Listen to their Marathon Talk Podcast episode here.