By Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Every practice, every race, Batuhan Demir (YES 2014-2015 student from Turkey, who was hosted by CIEE in Milwaukee, WI) leaves the track with a sense of accomplishment.

The Milwaukee King junior is new to the sport and he is only on the junior varsity, but the satisfaction that comes from completing a good workout is universal. Demir, whom everyone calls Batu, seems to love it.

"I felt proud after every practice, after every day," he said. "I was like 'Oh, wow, I did this, I worked hard today' and I did something healthy. It keeps me in shape and it will benefit me as I get older. Also I can eat more if I run."

That statement in some ways sums up Demir. He likes to run. He likes to eat. And he's got a pretty good sense of humor.

Like most people with handicaps, the disability doesn't define him. Blind since birth, the foreign exchange student from Turkey has spent this school year exposing himself to new cultures, soaking up the wisdom from Mr. Joseph's philosophy class, his favorite, and enjoying a side of school life that he can't get back home.

"We don't have high school sports in Turkey. There is soccer and basketball, but that's not for blind people," he said. "When I came here I was told there is track and there is cross country and I thought I could run."

So halfway into the cross-country season he joined the team and ran with the JV. He liked it so much that he came out for track, too. Demir has been running the 800 meters. His time has dropped from about 3 minutes, 38 seconds to 2:58 heading into the City JV meet Thursday at King. That's more than a minute off the pace he'd need to win the City title, but it's a solid time for a new runner.

During the team's training runs, he has been able to go 6 miles with little or no stopping. The experience has been a breeze for all involved.

"To be honest when he came out midway through the (cross country) season, I was scared and frustrated," said distance coach Keith Zeise, who coaches cross country in the fall. "I didn't necessarily think we were qualified to handle him, and we didn't really get resources because everyone was so time strapped."

"But he's so easygoing and he's so dedicated; it became a blessing for the team. Some of the athletes rally around Batu when they see how hard he works and they see him in the races."

The reality is that Demir is low maintenance. All he needs is a guide to run with him. He grabs his or her arm and they go. Every King runner has had a chance to run with Demir at some point this season, but his regular running buddy is senior Tony Stano.

The job is not to be taken lightly. On the track, there aren't many pitfalls to avoid, but as part of the distance crew, much of his workouts are runs through the neighborhood and parks near the school.

The uneven, unpredictable terrain he ran over during cross-country season would seem to be even tougher to deal with, but Demir had few problems.

"That worked out really well because I had good guide," he said. "They were really good at telling me there is a curb coming and there is this, step up, step down. The timing was just perfect, so I finished the fall season with no injuries."