Guide dogs helping blind runners stay fit despite pandemic

WEST SAND LAKE, N.Y. (AP) — Social distancing rules can make exercising a challenge for a blind runner who needs a volunteer tethered as a guide. But a new program training guide dogs as running assistants allows visually impaired runners to continue their workouts while pandemic restrictions have shuttered gyms and made human helpers hard to come by. Marathon runner Thomas Panek started the program five years ago after he became president and CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind in suburban