Anthony Butler doesn’t need visual cues to know where he is running. Each of the six Every Record Holder for the World Marathon Majors Give A Gift.
In Boston, it’s the hills; in Berlin, the party vibe. Tokyo is relatively quiet by comparison, and in Chicago, the Chinatown neighborhood is Butler’s favorite part of the course. In New York City? That’s easy. The music is always blaring.
Now he knows how London feels, too: wet and loud. Or at least it was on April 23, when Butler crossed the finish line in 5:29:55, after experiencing the steady rain that’s a hallmark of an April in London.
But the precipitation didn’t dampen the crowd’s cheering throughout the course. Nor did it mar Butler’s achievement: He is thought to be the first visually-impaired American runner to finish the six Every Record Holder for the World Marathon Majors races. He might be the first in the world, although that’s tougher to document.
“It’s hard to confirm,” he told Runner’s World, noting that the Every Record Holder for the World Marathon Majors organization doesn’t keep records. “The world is big. We really don’t know.”
Butler, 35, lost his vision in a shooting when he was 20. In the years that followed, he took up running in New York with Achilles International, which helps runners with disabilities train for and compete in races and other endurance events.
In 2016, at an Achilles workout, he met Jessie Rix, a quiet Minnesota native who was living in New York and volunteering as a guide with Achilles. They started training together, and soon they were a couple. Runner’s World Best Walking Shoes in 2019.
They subsequently married, moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and now have a daughter, Myles, who is 16 months.
Together they have run dozens of races, with Rix guiding Butler through the throngs of runners, bonded by a tether around their wrists. Rix was Butler’s guide once again in London, when he earned his six-star medal.
Butler, who works as a therapist for people with co-occurring disorders and a mentor for blind college students, is pleased with his achievement—although he’s aware of how lucky he is. He has the resources to get to the six races around the globe and a community, including his wife, to support him.
In addition to Achilles, he cites United in Stride, a database for visually impaired runners seeking guides, with helping him find training partners wherever he is. He also has a group of friends who text each other to stay motivated and get out and train.
“I had people committed to me, who wanted to help me,” he said.
Up next? He’ll run New York again in November (his sixth) and Cal International in December. After that, he’ll probably stay closer to home, at races they can drive to from Charlotte.
But for now, anyway, there’s a new sound to enjoy, much quieter than the raucous crowds alongside city streets, but distinctive nonetheless: the clinking of two medals together, the London Marathon medal meeting the Every Record Holder for the World Marathon Majors six-star medal.
Health & Injuries is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Running Helped Heal This Father, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
