When Co Down man Mark Pollock lost his sight it seemed, at first, that all his hopes and dreams had gone with it. A 22-year-old final year student at Trinity College Dublin, studying Business and Economics, he rowed for Ireland, and was set to begin a high-flying career as an investment banker in London.

However, a decade on he’s in training for the South Pole Race Project, in November, and when he reaches the finishing line — or rather pole — he will become the first blind person to reach the South Pole with two others.

His story of rising to the challenge of losing his sight is as inspiring as it is remarkable.

“I was in training for the Dublin University Boat Race between Trinity and UCD (University College Dublin). It was April 10, 1998 — the day the Good Friday Agreement was signed,” he says.

“I was doing circuits, press-ups and chin-ups. Suddenly, I noticed blurring on the edge of my periphery vision.”

At that point, he suspected that his retina was detaching.

“I went back to training the next day to go out on the water, and my vision was blurred.”

He was sent to Manchester for a sight-saving operation — but it wasn’t a success. Another operation was scheduled for July. Having only had the sight of his left eye since five years of age, he was fully aware that he was different to his friends. It never occurred to him that he would go blind.

“I had never faced up to the fact that I might not be able to see one day. I remember that I always felt a little bit different at school,” he admits.

Throughout his school years, Mark was in and out of hospital for operations on his eyes.

But this time, he knew something was more seriously wrong.

“Two, three and then four weeks went by and my sight never came back,” he says.

“I knew something was wrong. This time it was different to what had happened previously.”

The final operation came and went, and so too did all hope of being able to see again. It ended in a specialist’s office in Manchester.

“He examined my eyes and said there was nothing more that they could do for me. It was pretty final and I wasn’t prepared for it.

A series of developments resulted in life quickly changing for Mark. He completed a three month computer course which enabled him to fill out forms and apply for jobs; he graduated from Trinity with an aegrotat (which awards a pass in an examination although part was missed through illness) and he received a guide dog.

It was while he was at a graduation dinner with his college friends and family that he received a job offer. He moved to Dublin and started life in the city all over again.

Four years on, Mark had overcome many challenges and believed his life was now back on track. He needed a new challenge to motivate him and found it in the the Gobi March, a seven-day, six-marathon race in the Gobi Desert of China which he completed with his guide, Nick Wolfe.

“We had a string from wrist to wrist to keep us linked up. The terrain kept changing so I needed detailed instructions of what lay ahead. I was going up rivers, through canyons, crawling over cliff-tops and when the paths got too narrow Nick went in front and I held on to his backpack.

“I met participants from all over the world and it turned out to be a good networking opportunity for the business I was to set up as a motivational speaker.”

But first, Mark had to complete his next challenge — the world’s most extreme marathon, at the North Pole. Six years after losing his sight, Mark set off with his guide John O’Regan.

“The difficulty during the actual race was that I had so much gear on — a face mask, balaclava, mountain hat, hoods and goggles — that I couldn’t hear any of the instructions from my guide,” he says.

“Plus, it was very, very windy up there, which didn’t help. The temperature was around -50C.

“We were treading on ice floats of 6ft to12ft with the Arctic Ocean below with deep crevasses straight into the water. Sometimes the terrain was very icy, then it changed and we were in snow up to our knees. I fell quite a lot.”

More at belfasttelegraph.co.uk

ROE input: Running with helper John O’Regan, Pollock also finished the Dead Sea Marathon on Friday 13 April 2007 in a time of 4hr42mins. Pollock came in 37th place overall and received a special award from the Prince of Jordan to acknowledge his achievement.

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