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Legally Blind High School Student Competing In Philadelphia Marathon

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--The Philadelphia Marathon is this weekend and runners from all over will take part, including a 17-year-old student from Perkiomen Valley High School, who is quite the inspiration.

Kinzey Lynch was born legally blind, but that hasn't stopped him from taking up any number of activities.

He says he used to wrestle but then switched to competitive distance running around 8th grade. He runs with the aid of a sighted guide, and while many find what he does remarkable, he takes it in stride:

"It's just what I do. I'm just running like everyone else is, I just happen to have a visual impairment. I don't like to think of myself as any different than any other competitor in that respect, and that goes with any aspect of life. I like to think of myself as a normal 17-year old high school student that just happens to have a visual impairment. I don't like to let that define who I am."

Lynch says his goal for the marathon is to finish in about 3 hours and thirty minutes.

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