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Thomas Panek and his guide dog Gus participating in the New York Half Marathon
Thomas Panek completed 20 marathons, but he made history on Sunday at the New York Half Marathon.
While visually impaired runners generally use human guides, Mr. Panek became the first person to complete the race with the help of guide dogs.
A trio of Labradors – Westley, Waffle and Gus – accompanied him for a third of the race.
The team finished in two hours and 21 minutes.
Mr. Panek, who lost his sight in his early twenties, told CNN that, while enjoying the support of human volunteers, he lacked a sense of independence.
"It never made sense for me to go out the door and leave my guide dog behind when I like to run and that they like to run," he said. "It was just a matter of refuting the misconceptions and saying why not.
In 2015, Mr. Panek introduced the Running Guides Program, which raises dogs to help runners.
- How do you run a marathon without a view?
When selecting his canine companions for the race in New York, Mr. Panek chose Waffle and Westley, brothers and sisters, to join Gus, his full-time guide dog.
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Thomas Panek, Waffle, Westley and Gus present their medals after the race
"The link is really important, you can not just take the harness and run with these dogs," Panek told CNN. "You train with a team, no matter what kind of athlete you are, and you want to spend time together in this training camp."
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Each dog has his own pace – Westley runs a mile and a half, while his sister Waffle can travel the same distance in six minutes – and helps Mr. Panek avoid obstacles such as curbs and cones.
Each dog wears a special harness and safety boots to protect his paws.
Gus was chosen to run the last leg of the race and cross the finish line with Mr. Panek. He retired from his dog guide duties at the end of the race.
"It's a little emotional for me because he's been with me from the beginning," said Mr. Panek.
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Gus, Mr. Panek's personal guide dog, retired after the race.
Prior to the race, Mr. Panek told Time magazine that guide dogs give visually impaired people the freedom to "do what a visually impaired person does, and sometimes even run a little faster than them".
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