 Featuring Panelists: Adelaide Ortega & Matias Salgado Hosted by: Dan Broz Santa Barbara Half Marathon & 5K • Pre-Race Lunch Panel Introduction Every year, the Santa Barbara Half Marathon & 5K brings together blind and low vision athletes, sighted guides, volunteers, and community partners in a powerful display of inclusion and teamwork. During this year’s pre-race lunch, we hosted a special Q&A panel featuring two inspiring athletes, Adelaide Ortega and Matias Salgado, moderated by Blind Fitness Lead Volunteer Trainer and Community Outreach Director Dan Broz. Their stories capture resilience, rediscovery, and the profound impact of community support. Whether you’re visually impaired, sighted, an athlete, or simply someone looking for inspiration-this conversation offers meaningful insight into what it means to step forward, adapt, and thrive. Q&A Panel Conversation Q1: What inspired you to become more active and pursue fitness while living with vision loss? Matias Salgado: I have to give credit to Brianna Pettit, who was my original O&M instructor. She helped me understand that I could be active and independent - that I didn’t have to stay stuck in avoidance or procrastination. She showed me that movement was not only possible, but empowering. Adelaide Ortega: I had never raced before and honestly never imagined I could participate in something like this. When I finally checked it out, seeing other people with disabilities running and walking was incredibly inspiring. Living close by made it accessible, but what really surprised me was how many people came out and how supportive the atmosphere was. I’m not a runner, but I can walk - and you don’t need to run to be part of this. There’s really no excuse not to try. Q2: What challenges or obstacles have you overcome in becoming more active - either for this race or in daily life? AO: It took me a long time to get here. When I first lost my eyesight, I shut down. I stayed home for about nine months, depressed, afraid to go outside. My family did everything for me, which was loving, but it kept me isolated. Then I discovered Blind Fitness, and everything changed. They showed me that I didn’t have to be afraid anymore - that I could move, participate, and belong. Now I look back and barely recognize that earlier version of myself. I’ve rediscovered my happiness. MS: After being sighted for many years, losing my vision meant re-learning nearly everything. Every task becomes a challenge at first. But if you decide to thrive, you eventually overcome. Think about something you love doing - and now imagine re-learning it without sight. It’s tough. But once you adapt, life gets easier. You start to see what you're capable of again. Q3: Is there a proud moment or milestone in your fitness journey that stands out? AO: When I first lost my sight, I gained weight and felt completely disconnected. But after joining Blind Fitness, everything shifted. I started walking, moving, meeting incredible visually impaired people who inspired me every day. I started losing weight, eating a little healthier (maybe!), but most importantly - I found community again. The friendships, the confidence, the joy… it changed everything for me. MS: My turning point happened after training with Brianna. One day, I just decided to take the bus from Ventura County all the way to Santa Barbara - completely on my own. After that, I said yes to almost every opportunity. Now when people ask, “How do you do it?” my response is, “How do you not?” Gaining independence and the confidence to participate fully in life - that’s what I’m most proud of. Q4: What advice would you share with someone - visually impaired or sighted - who wants to be more active or spend more time outdoors? AO: Well, to put it simply - with the race tomorrow, you won’t know whether you’ll win or lose unless you run or walk the race. Closing Thoughts
Adelaide and Matias’s stories are powerful reminders that:
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Blind Fitness Brings More than a Dozen Low-Vision and Blind Athletes to Santa Barbara Half-Marathon11/14/2025  Volunteer guides with Blind Fitness will run alongside 18 blind and low-vision athletes for the Santa Barbara Half Marathon and 5K this Sunday, November 9. | Credit: Blind Fitness  When it comes to fostering inclusion in athletics, Blind Fitness doesn’t just talk the talk — they’ve got it down to a science. This Sunday, November 9, the nonprofit will field 18 blind and low-vision athletes alongside roughly 40 total team members for the Santa Barbara Half-Marathon and 5K, in what marks their third year collaborating with Wayfinder Family Services and United in Stride. It’s a carefully orchestrated process of ability and alliance that enables low-vision and blind athletes to participate in physical activities. “We’re excited to see the community come together again to celebrate the power of connection through movement,” said Tania Isaac-Dutton, Blind Fitness’s executive director. “Events like this remind us that inclusion isn’t just about access — it’s about belonging, visibility, and joy.” The magic, though, happens in the matchmaking. Lead registration coordinator Brian Walters — a certified, experienced runner who’s logged many hours working with blind and low-vision individuals — orchestrates the pairings. Pace comes first. Then experience level. The goal? Rhythm — a balance where neither party feels like they’re carrying the entire weight of the partnership. “We try to pair the either new guides or less-experienced guides with those participants who also made the running or walking the event for the first time, so that there’s a sense of being equally matched,” Isaac-Dutton explained. Guides are volunteers and trained by Daniel Broz, who is low vision and teaches newcomers on everything from etiquette to the physical choreography of guiding. The model emerged from founder Brianna Pettit’s COVID-era epiphany: She’s a triathlete who could surf, run, walk, and bike with participants, but realized the bottleneck wasn’t desire — it was guide capacity. “In a perfect world, there would be more guides,” Isaac-Dutton said. “That is one of the main reasons why Blind Fitness exists — we want the community to come out and join us so that we can expand the capacity of guides to better support blind and low-vision individuals.” Most participants will tackle the 5K, though a handful will brave the half. The team’s a hair smaller than last year, but what it lacks in sheer numbers it makes up for in preparation and spirit. For Isaac-Dutton, the payoff arrives post-race. “I think for me, it’s when everybody returns from their event, whether it’s the half or the 5K, and you see that look of sweat and satisfaction, that they did it, that they completed it. That’s my favorite part,” she said. “There’s a particular shift in the entire atmosphere within our group that is really special. It’s almost palpable. Getting to witness those expressions on our participants’ faces. That’s one of those, like the dream coming into fruition.” Registration and more information available here.  Volunteer guides with Blind Fitness will run alongside 18 blind and low-vision athletes for the Santa Barbara Half Marathon and 5K this Sunday, November 9. | Credit: Blind Fitness Click here to read the original article Fri Nov 07, 2025 | 10:45am: www.independent.com/2025/11/07/blind-fitness-brings-more-than-a-dozen-low-vision-and-blind-athletes-to-santa-barbara-half-marathon/?utm_campaign=feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=later-linkinbio
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As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the state of California. Donations to Blind Fitness are tax deductible
EIN Number: 87-2740782 | IRS Determination Letter
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