YOU’VE heard of walking a mile in someone’s shoes – how about running five or 10k in them?

This is what 16 participants in the Dorset Blind Association Annual Charity Run agreed to do, experiencing the difficulties of blindness first hand.

Wearing blindfolds they put their trust in a guide during the five and 10k races, which set out from Boscombe Pier at 10am today

Then halfway through the race the roles reversed, with the blindfolded runner becoming the guide.

They were among 117 taking part, including some blind and visually impaired runners, as well as sighted participants, all raising funds for the association which aims to help people understand sight loss, and improve integration between the sighted and non-sighted communities.

Jaya Da Costa, the charity’s fundraiser, said the race had already raised £6,000 – far more than last year’s £3,600 – with more money to come in.

She added: “I spoke to a few of the blindfolded runners who said it really made them think about what it must be like to be blind, and that’s what we’re trying to do really. We speak to our members and they don’t want sympathy – they want people to understand a bit better.”