by Karen Sangillo
Mark McCowan has a goal; to raise awareness about blindness. McCowan, blind himself, established the Bookin’ For Lookin’ 5K race in Newtown.
The race is now in its 12th year and to date has raised $91,750, all to benefit the Bucks County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where he is a board member.
“I can’t wait until we reach $100,000,” said Mark, the race director.
The event is set for Sunday, April 21st at 8:30am. The 5K race begins at Council Rock High School North, loops through Tyler State Park and finishes back at the high school for a total of 3.1 miles.
This year a new feature is the 10K race, 6.2 miles, starts with the 5K course but will continue through the park for another three miles before finishing back at the high school track.
This 10K will begin 15 minutes prior to the 5K race.
“I wanted to have another choice for some of these runners who are looking for something longer,” Mark said. “Some people would finish our 5K and go right back out and run some more. The 10K has some hills on the back end. It’s more of a challenge, and it’s very scenic. I’m blind now, but having had sight in the past I know how beautiful it is.”
The idea for the race came to Mark in 2012.
“I had started running and a friend of mine who also ran (Candis Krzaczyk) thought about bringing a 5K to Newtown and we came up with the name,” he said. “She had a friend who organized races and got in touch with him, and that’s how it all began.
“It’s evolved into something that has been consistent, it’s been fun and garnered much attention in the Newtown area. The goal is to continue it and hopefully it will grow even more.”
Mark plans to run the 10K himself and expects other vision impaired runners to attend.
“There are some people who run who are blind,” he said. “Some bring their guide dogs and others are guided by people from Achilles International, which is a program that provides people to assist the disabled as they run.
“I’ll be running with a friend, but I do have a guide dog, Arlo. I’ve run with him, but I feel like I don’t get the right arm movement when I’m with him.”
Mark has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease, diagnosed when he was 13. A 1991 graduate of Council Rock, he taught elementary school in Trenton until going on disability in 2012 when his sight failed him.
“I started running when I stepped away from teaching,” he said. “I was doing 5K races, then I went to 10K, and then half marathons. I met my wife, Stacy, through running, and now our goal is for her to do a marathon and me to do a half marathon in every state. Right now I’m at 33 states and she’s at 31.”
The race is part of the Bucks 5K Series, a group of races that each benefit a different charity in Bucks County.
“We’ve been part of it since about 2017 and we’re very excited about that association,” Mark said.
Registration is $35 or $40 the day of the event and includes a race shirt. Custom travel mugs are awarded to the top finishers in each age category.
Go to the race website at www.bookinforlookin.com for more information or to register. Sponsorship and volunteering opportunities are also available.