Nearly blind Ary Dias’ quest for normalcy leads him to Boston Marathon

Ary Dias will run the Boston Marathon for the first time Monday. As he traverses the legendary route, the cheers from bystanders will provide fuel — as will the encouragement and instruction from his guide.

Dias, a 45-year-old from Brazil, uses one because he was left nearly blind when a stray bullet struck him as he stood beside his elementary school when he was 11. The bullet entered the left side of his face and exited on the right, permanently damaging his eyesight. He doesn’t remember much about what happened or even general details such as the school’s name, what town he was in, who the shooter was or if anyone was held accountable.

It’s as if Dias decided long ago that even though he’d have to live with the consequences of that day for the rest of his life, he’d bury the memory itself.

“As a child, it didn’t affect me as much. But as I got older, people made jokes and I couldn’t do many things others could,” Dias told ESPN through an interpreter. “The suffering came when I was an adult, when I realized how this would affect my life.”

Dias’ goal in Boston is to finish at the top of the race in the Para Athletics division, which features runners with various impairments. Considering the obstacles he has faced in coming to terms with what he lost more than 30 years ago, Dias’ new normal — long-distance running — is taking him to places he never dreamed. He has run 22 marathons, all of them in South America, and the iconic Boston Marathon will be his first race in the United States.

For Dias, and those who have supported him throughout, the race will represent a significant milestone within an ongoing success story. Less than 4% of marathon runners will finish the full 26.2-mile race in under three hours, yet Dias has done it multiple times. In 2018, he finished 27th overall in the Rio de Janeiro marathon, posting a time of 2:48:08. Three months later, with a pace of 2:48:04, he finished 66th in a race in Buenos Aires.

Growing up in the northeastern state of Bahia in Brazil, where playing soccer is the definition of normal, Dias was an avid player. So the bullet did not just take away Dias’ eyesight, but his sense of normalcy as well. He fell into a depression which, in his words, lasted for most of his adulthood.

Dias would occasionally attempt a return to the pitch despite his near blindness. When this proved fruitless, he spent years anguishing, searching for something that could simultaneously restore his sense of self and scratch the competitive itch he’d now felt for most of his life.

In 2013, he found that something.

“When I started running, I fell in love with it,” Dias said. “I found normalcy once I started getting involved in [this sport]. I felt alive again.”

Early on, Dias combined his wiry frame with an unwavering appetite for training to immerse himself in the sport. With the help of Achilles International, an organization dedicated to providing support for differently abled athletes, Dias runs with a guide who is trained to provide a safe environment for him during training sessions as well as races.

“Ary can’t train freely on the streets, so he always depends on a guide or has to train on a track,” said Mario Mello, Dias’ running coach and a staff member for the Achilles chapter in Brazil. “Physiologically, though, there’s no difference at all. His training is very similar to an able-bodied athlete. He’s probably the fastest runner in Achilles.”

According to an article in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published last June, running has increased in popularity in Brazil. This has prompted Achilles to set up a chapter there and work with the country’s top races, such as the Sao Paulo Marathon, the Rio de Janeiro Marathon and Sao Silvestre, a road race that’s the oldest event of its kind in the country.

“As soon as I started running, I would always hear about Sao Silvestre, the most important event in Sao Paulo,” Dias said. “That was my target back then, and now I run it every single year. Boston is my new target now.”

Despite joining Achilles in 2017, Dias began training with the goal of competing in the Boston Marathon only shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Brazil, which Mello says only served as further motivation to complete the goal as soon as they could get back to running races in person.

“[Ary] ran virtual races during the pandemic really well, even without the stimulant of having people cheering him on,” Mello said. “When he crosses the finish line in Boston, we will be extremely proud because our work will have paid off.”

Dick Traum, who became the first above-the-knee amputee to run the New York City Marathon in 1976, founded Achilles International seven years later. It has gone on to become a worldwide operation, empowering differently abled runners to compete through its 42 chapters in 17 countries, and involving itself with most of the sport’s biggest races.

Since 2010, Achilles has helped organizers around Brazil with setting up segments for differently abled racers. According to Mello, their efforts to lobby these events have resulted in significant benefits for runners like Ary, such as reduced registration costs. Today, over 90% of races in Brazil have special sections for Achilles members and other runners with disabilities.

The litany of emotions during a marathon is something Dias readily admits to going through himself. He often pushes past the discomfort and building fatigue by singing, usually halfway through, and challenging himself to run to the pace of a specific song. On occasion, he’ll even ask his guide to harmonize with him, providing runners and bystanders with a temporary serenade.

“I feel pain all the time,” Dias said, chuckling. “You have to be psychologically ready for it in order to finish the race. Plan A is to finish; there is no Plan B.”

Dias’ prowess has undoubtedly made him a star within Achilles’ ranks and an inspiration to those looking to follow his example in the future.

“We want athletes with disabilities like Ary to reframe what’s possible,” said Emily Glasser, president and CEO of Achilles International, through a statement. “We are so proud to cheer him on Boston Marathon race day and look forward to seeing him compete as a top contender in the para athletics division.”

If Dias gets his way, Boston will be only the opening salvo in a still-budding career as a long-distance runner. As Traum did before him, Dias says he wants to run the New York City Marathon this year.

For Dias, little else matters than the next race. Living mostly off a government stipend, he says the majority of his expenses are paid for out of pocket, often leaving him in an uncomfortable financial situation. Despite this, he hopes there will always be enough to keep moving forward.

“It’s been really hard to pay for all this. I don’t have many resources and look to other people for help,” Dias said. “I have to keep dreaming and believing. As soon as I get back from Boston, I have faith that God will take me to the highest of places.”