ABC 7 Features Story on Lighthouse Teen Competing in Rugged Maniac Race

Suncoast teen defies obstacles to raise funds for local charity

By Melissa Ratliff | WWSB-TV ABC 7 | Oct. 6, 2021

A 17-year-old Suncoast boy has conquered a lot of obstacles in his life, most recently an extremely muddy obstacle-filled 5K race.

Last weekend, Levi Gobin completed the Rugged Maniac race in Tampa. He’s stronger and faster than most adults.

Also, Levi is completely blind and has been since birth. At birth, he was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia. At the race, his mother, Shree, stayed by his side as a seeing guide throughout the course. Gobin ran the race, his family tells us, to raise funds for the Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center. Shree has also completed the Rugged Maniac and enjoyed sharing the experience with her son.

As if that feat isn’t extraordinary enough, Levi, who also has partial hearing loss, is an accomplished pianist at Booker School for Visual and Performing Arts. When he isn’t running on a treadmill for training, you can catch him playing the piano. He also taught himself to play drums and loves composing music.

If you are interested in donating to Levi’s fundraising for the Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center, you can donate here. Levi has set a goal of $5,000.

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