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 Sue Nesbihal-Cordero patrolled the streets as a probation officer; she had a gun to back her up. Not any more.
She's got different challenges now. She's still not afraid; she’s got her courage, nerve and the willpower to do her best.
Sue competes in the 5k to the marathon, the steeplechase, the jumps and throws. Married to a top masters runner, Sue calls herself “a middle of the pack runner”.
But she's far from average. If she stumbles, she bounces back quickly. If she misses a step, she takes another one. She's determined and dedicated. And she's blind.
Photo Courtesy of USATF/Kristina Hervey The RunDown
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero, Age 60, Born June 8, 1949.
Lives Long Island, New York.
Married to Joe Cordero. One son.
Running Club: Bohemia Track Club
Distance Road Runner: 5k to marathon
Track & Field: 10,000m, steeplechase, javelin, long jump, triple jump
& pole vault.
Why Running
WRT: When did you take up running?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I started running at 34, after my son was born. Before that I played professional softball for four years and local leagues for many years. The games were always at night and that was hard with a baby. So instead I ran in the morning and it didn’t interfere with my son.
My first husband encouraged me to run marathons. I’m a middle of the pack runner, short and stubby. I make the most of my ability and would never be taken for a runner.
In a Snowstorm
WRT: Can you tell us about your vision?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I was born with retinitis pigmentosa and my vision has steadily gotten worse. In 2002 I was still driving but in 2004 I was declared legally blind. My vision is now 20/800.
I’ve lost my peripheral vision so I can only see what I’m looking at, around 20 feet away. It’s like looking through a straw. Plus what I see is blurry like you’re in a snowstorm. Marilyn Mitchell often asks, “What do you see of me?” I say, “I can see your head but not your shoulders”.
Pulling a Nesbihal
WRT: How has it affected your running?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: Locally when someone falls they say, “You pulled a “Nesbihal”. I fall a lot, usually in potholes. I memorize my runs and know there’s a pothole in the first 50 yards of my daily run. But things change. Luckily with my judo background, I know how to land without breaking bones.
What Barriers?
WRT: Unbelievably you compete in the steeplechase.
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I tell people I do the steeple by Braille. The steeples are 80 meters apart and I count my steps, every second left. There are 22 double lefts and then I go over. Mostly I lope over the barriers but at the water jump I stop at the top and jump out. At the other barriers I have more momentum but I’m not brave enough to do this at the water jump.
WRT: I’m too scared to do the steeple and I can see.
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: The water jump is fun, the worse thing that can happen is that I’ll fall in and get wet. In Oshkosh at the 2009 Masters Nationals I placed second in my age group. The officials groaned every time I approached the water jump.
Round and Round
WRT: You also run the 10,000m on the track, 25 laps is a real mind game, what do you think?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I’m slow so I’m not running for time. It’s about doing it, as I know most people with my eyesight wouldn’t. In the 10,000 you feel like you’re out there forever. I look at the white line and wonder if I’ll go stir crazy.
Last year at the Nationals in Oshkosh an official mixed up my laps and called, “One lap to go”, when I had two laps left. I burned it out for the last lap and then my husband Joe yelled, “You’ve got another lap”. It was hard to get going again. But luckily I did otherwise I’d have been disqualified.
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Mapped Out
WRT: What’s your training like, do you run with others?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I’ve got a course mapped out. I run out my front door and down the block. It’s a mile to the corner, I go around it and there’s an overpass where I do repeats. It’s three miles to the track. I run some miles on the track and run home. I only have to cross one street and there’s a light, which makes it easy.
 I mostly run on my own. My good friend Mary Trotto trains with me in summer. We do track workouts together and she’s great for me as we both do multiple events.
Mary is amazed that I never foul in the long jump and triple jump. She can see and fouls.
I have a little trouble with the javelin. I recently speared our swimming pool in practice but finished 9th in the javelin at the WMA in Lahti.
I try to stay active and do kickboxing two days a week and yoga one day a week.
Photo Courtesy of Sue-Nesbihal-Cordero Top of Page A World Class Guide
WRT: Do you use running guides?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: Last year I ran the Disney half marathon. Some friends had arranged a running guide. However when we lined up, I was in the second carrel and my guide was in the fourth. It was a packed start with 13,000 people.
I started slowly to wait for my guide. She kept saying, “Look out, watch out!” I don’t need a guide for that. I want to know if we are running up or down. I thought, I’m going to get killed, crushed by all these people.
When it got light at 7am, I said to my guide, “You go ahead”. I ran on my own for the rest of the race. It was good. I got into my own rhythm. Twenty minutes after I finished I got a tap on the shoulder. My guide had just finished. She said I’d passed her at mile 8.
When I run cross country Kathy Martin is my guide. The USATF National Disability 5K X-C is held locally. Kathy is one of my best friends and we’ve known each other for 12 years. Kathy is so fast and I’m so slow that she tap-dances in front of me.
She is really good at telling me about the up-hills and down hills and if there are any roots or trees in my way. It’s fun having one of the best masters runners in the world as my guide.
WRT asked Kathy Martin to share her thoughts on Sue:
Kathy Martin: Sue Nesbihal-Cordero is one of the bravest and most courageous people I know. Her loss of sight has been a devastating blow to her lifestyle yet she never falters in her determination to continue to live the life of a handi-capable.
Her lack of vision does not prevent her from competing or supporting the athletes. She truly loves the sport of track and field and many individuals who have all of their senses intact would greatly enhance their lives if they took Sue's "can do" attitude and applied it to their lives.
She runs and falls and gets back up again and continues, never losing sight of her goal. It is truly my pleasure to support her in any way I can. Her spirit humbles me and by the way she has a deadly sense of humor!
WRT: I interviewed another runner with your condition, Luanne Burke. Do you know her?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: Yes, Luanne is a really good runner. She out ran her guide at the Nationals in Oshkosh. I invited her to the National Disability cross country champs. Luanne won and I was a distant second.
Coming Together
WRT: You're married to top masters distance runner, Joe Cordero, how did you meet?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: Joe and I belong to the same running club, Bohemia Track Club. In 1998, my husband and Joe’s wife both died of cancer. Running got us through the initial shock.
We had both suffered this great loss and connected in our grief. We understood each other. There was no need to explain if you were sitting in a movie and just started crying. We dated for four years before we got married and have been together for 12 years.
Running to the Altar
WRT: What was your wedding like?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I came up with the idea to hold a wedding road race. Our lives revolved around running and we wanted to give back to our running community. We called the race, “Run to the Altar” and entry was free. It was held in Eisenhower Park, Long Island.
 We were married at the finish line by two judges. Then everyone, including the judges, ran the 5k race.
Joe and I wore race numbers one and two and took the lead for the first few seconds.
Wedding Party L to R: Best Man Fredky, Groom Joe,
Bride Sue and Maid of Honor Mary Trotto We didn’t run the whole race as we greeted all the runners at the finish line. We gave everyone “Run to the Altar” key chains inscribed with our wedding date, August 25, 2002.
We also had prizes for running couples. There were awards, weekends at the Park Central in New York City, for the fastest combined time, couples together for 10 years, 20 years, etc. We had a DJ and bagels, donuts and other race food.
The after race party went from 9am until 12pm. Then in the same park, we set up a tent with a dance floor and were married again at 2pm with our family.
People still talk about our wedding and ask, “Will you do it again?" Maybe we'll hold another race for our 10th wedding anniversary.
Behind Every Man
WRT: What’s it like being a running couple?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: Joe is the champion runner in our family. I’m very supportive of him and I’m also his toughest critic. We’ve had a difficult 12 months with Joe’s knee injury. He tore his meniscus and has arthritis in his knee. He had a lot of pain.
We brought it back to basics with running in the pool and slowly building up again. At the World Indoors in Kamloops his stride was back and he was running without pain. He didn’t run the time he wanted but he just needs more conditioning.
What about your body, how is it holding up?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I’m got torn cartilage in my right knee. I’ve had three surgeries and last time they nicked a nerve. If I over do it my knee swells and then I take a few days off. But it’s not hurting or impeding me.
Licensed to Carry
WRT: How have you spent your working life?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I worked until 2006 as a probation officer and supervisor in the criminal justice system. I loved being on the streets. I managed to fake my annual gun test for a few years. All I had to do was point and fire. My instincts stayed with me. But in the end I had to give up my gun.
I’d go on the streets without a gun to supervise but then I was moved to the office. They made adaptations for me, software for my computer. However there was so much reading and I couldn’t keep up with all the paperwork. I had seven people working for me writing reports. So I went out on disability.
Bohemia Track Club
WRT: What else keeps you busy?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: I’m president of Bohemia Track Club and was Vice President for 7 years. We have around 180 to 200 members. I’m kept busy organizing speakers to come to our meetings. We’ve had people talk about compression tights, yoga and chiropractic services. We have track workouts all summer and help out at many local road races.
I’m also the USATF masters chair of Long Island. I try to improve the opportunities for masters, as many locals are long distance runners and don’t know about track. Our club got the first women’s 4x400 relay team record at the Millrose Games. I try to get teams together for the Penn relays.
WRT: What races do you have coming up?
Sue Nesbihal-Cordero: We’ll be in Sacramento this July for the Nationals. I plan to compete in the long jump, triple jump, 10,000m and of course the steeple.
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