Tyler Poulin, left, runs on the Winthrop track and field team with Alden Livingston as his guide. Poulin was born with Leber’s Congential Amaurosis, a genetic disorder that causes visual impairment. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Winthrop High sophomore Tyler Poulin competes in cross country and track and field to honor his best friend Aaron Young, who was one of 18 people killed in the Lewiston mass shooting in October 2023.

“(Christianity) is something I’ve moved closer to since the Lewiston shooting, and it’s something that’s helped me move toward running to help me through (grief),” Poulin said. “I lost my best friend. He was going to join our team, so basically, now I’m locked into the sport because I have to fulfill the commitment that he’s no longer able to make.”

Poulin was born with Leber’s Congential Amaurosis, a genetic disorder that causes visual impairment. He is only able to see outlines, shapes and contrast, not color.

Poulin said running helps him in a variety of ways.

“Running for me is an escape from not only everything that goes on in a day-to-day basis, but it also gives me a connection with athletes, the people who are around me,” Poulin said. “The competition, the adrenaline; I like the work of (running). It’s not really hard, physically, but when it comes to having to push yourself … it’s a big mental game that you really have to try and stay in tune with.”

Poulin began running the summer before eighth grade. He competed in both cross country and track and field his freshman year. His favorite track events are the 1,600- and 3,200-meters. His biggest strength, he said, is his kick toward the end of a tough race. That can be a challenge for his guide runner, Winthrop history teacher Alden Livingston.

As Poulin’s guide, Livingston wears a tether attached to Poulin’s left wrist.

“I have a tether and it’s like a foot in length,” Livingston said. “When we turn left, I just pull in toward me. When we turn right, I usually have to push my arm against him. With track, it’s more about where other people are so I’ll tell him, we have someone in front of us, someone behind us, left or right. With cross country, that’s a lot of looking down on the ground and saying, ‘hey, we have roots coming up,’ because he can’t see that.”

Poulin is responsible for setting the pace, which means Livingston has to train to be able to stay with him.

Alden Livingston, left, and Tyler Poulin jog Monday afternoon outside Winthrop High School. Livingston is Poulin’s guide for races and practice. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

“Toward the end of a track race, if we’re finishing out strong with a stride at the end, (Livingston’s) going to be breathing as hard as I am, if not harder,” Poulin said. “I’ve got a nasty kick sometimes.”

Urijah Oliver, a Winthrop sophomore, has gained a new appreciation for running through his friendship with Poulin. Oliver guides Poulin on bike rides and was Poulin’s guide before Livingston took over those duties full time.

“Him and I have a strong mentality, (but) he definitely has a stronger one than me,” Oliver said. “He just magnetized onto me and influenced me to start working toward success a lot harder.”

Winthrop coach Ed Van Tassel encouraged Poulin to run with the Ramblers and said he is inspired by his “can-do” attitude.

“I view the sports that I coach, especially cross country and especially track, that there’s a spot for every single kid,” Van Tassel said. “There’s no reason, if a kid wants to be involved in a sport, come out and do it. I don’t care if you think you’re fast, if you think you’re slow, whatever, just come out and do it.”

Van Tassel said he coaches Poulin like anything other athlete on this team.

“By the end of the (cross country) season, he was fifth on our team,” Van Tassel said. “He was right in the mix (and) part of that scoring. His place impacted qualifying for regionals, placing MVCs or not, so he’s right in the mix. I don’t know when he’s going to start slowing down, but he’s just been growing by leaps and bounds.”

This spring, Van Tassel expects Poulin to break six minutes in the mile and qualify for the Mountain Valley Conference championship meet. He said Poulin is not just a member of the team, but he is making it stronger.

“He’ll put up with a fair amount of suffering and pain out there,” Van Tassel said.

Poulin encourages everyone to run.

“No matter what you need to push yourself forward, don’t let a disability or what someone else has said about you (allow you to) not complete a task,” Poulin said. “If someone’s telling you that you can’t run this event, go run that event. Prove them wrong, use your disability as an inspiration and find within that disability there’s always going to be a positive and a negative.”