Adrian Broca and Reed Semcken at the Boston Marathon (Photo Courtesy of Adrian Broca).

“The weather was nice, it did warm up a little at the end, but it was amazing to run Boston again. It was like a dream and every time I run it (the Boston Marathon), it goes by too fast,” Broca said.

Broca started running marathons in 2001. In addition to the normal challenges associated with running extreme distances, Broca has had to overcome one other difficulty: he is legally blind.

Broca started losing his sight when he turned 18. His brother encouraged him to join the cross country team. At first, he could see the outline of the other runners, but eventually he started getting lost on trails and started feeling lost in life too.

“I lost my love for life and felt lost. It was then that I decided that if I was going to stick around I was going to have to figure out what I could still do,” Broca said.

Broca still had trouble seeing objects, but ran with his sisters who guided him.

He enjoyed competing, but found that on short runs, people ran too fast and there were too many turns.

Marathons, on the other hand, close down streets, eliminating traffic and leaving fewer navigational challenges.

Broca ran his first marathon in Los Angeles in 2001. He finished it in 3:42:58.

Broca has now run around 30 marathons, with a personal best time of around 2 hours and 50 minutes.

Monday marked Broca’s eighth Boston Marathon. He has won the Visually Impaired Division twice.

“There are faster, younger, more talented runners, but every time I go out there I want to win,” Broca said.

To prepare for the Boston Marathon he ran around 70 miles a week, as well as competing in the LA Marathon.

Broca said that Boston, though, is his favorite marathon to run.

“There’s nothing that can compare to it; the crowds are on the ground cheering you on, they’re there for every stretch and they believe in you,” Broca said. “It’s the oldest marathon in the world, you have to qualify for it so you’re part of a select group.”

With a pace as fast as Broca’s, however, it is difficult to find people fast enough to guide him. The challenge of finding guides was further complicated this year because the harsh winter in Boston made it difficult for people to train and caused some injuries.

Still, Broca was eventually able to find guides, including former University of Southern California wide receiver Reed Semcken.

Semcken narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Boston Marathon himself after running his first marathon in Los Angeles.

Semcken met Broca through a mutual friend. Before the Boston Marathon, they went on a few training runs together.

Broca said he was excited to have found a guide for the first part of the course, and for Semcken to “get a taste of the crowd and the course” in Boston.

Broca said he hopes to compete in many more marathons and is glad that he found running as something to be passionate about.

“Even though losing my sight was a horrible thing and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, I believe it’s turned into a positive thing because it’s taught me to achieve in every aspect of my life. Without the sport of running I would not have met my wife or wonderful people like Reed who are willing to help out,” Broca said.

Broca’s wife did PR for the LA Marathon. The two met when she was assigned his story.

Reach Deputy Editor Hannah Madans here.