Photo via Edmonds Patch

At the Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas competition three months ago, Microsoft software engineer Patricia Walsh put in an impressive time of 11 hours and 50 minutes. That was good enough to earn the 30-year-old athlete a 13th place finish among women. Now, here’s the truly impressive part: Walsh is blind.

Heidi Dietrich, a reporter at Edmonds Patch, has the truly inspiring story of the Seattle triathlete and her many recent accomplishments in triathlon competitions, including shattering records for blind athletes.

If you need a reminder, a triathlon consists of a grueling 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run. This weekend, Walsh will compete in the Accenture U.S. Paratriathlon National Championships and she’s considering training for the the Paralympic Games in Brazil in 2016.

Dietrich writes about Walsh’s first marathon, completed at the age of 22:

That first marathon, Walsh planned to recruit a friend who would help her navigate the course. But her companion bailed out after just 4 miles because she hadn’t trained, at all. Not wanting to give up herself, Walsh ran the rest of the marathon alone. She fell four times, veered off course more than once, and ran into a traffic cone. “I looked like someone had beaten me up when I crossed the finish line,” Walsh said.

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