Nearly blind Missouri man compromises on route

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) - A nearly blind suburban St. Louis marathon runner has agreed to tweak his route because neighbors feared colliding with him.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/R6Fo5R ) says that 57-year-old Dennis Atkins can only see shadows of objects and differentiate between light and dark.

He used to run down the middle of streets in a St. Charles subdivision, guiding himself by focusing on black-line expansion joints.

Now he's agreed to instead stay close to street sides where parking already was prohibited. He'll focus on where the grass meets the curb.

Atkins also promised to wear bright-colored clothing and to stick to less traveled streets.

Meanwhile, the city will post a sign or signs alerting drivers to watch out for a visually impaired person. There's also talk of reducing the speed limit.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com