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Max Bergman could be just another student out for a run with his dog.

But he's a pretty special student, out running for more than just exercise, with a dog who is more than simply a pet.

Max Bergman is a PhD candidate and an international middle distance runner.

He is also blind and Forrest is his guide dog. He helps Max negotiate his way around UWA while he studies for his doctorate in agricultural science.

But Forrest knows his way around more cities than just Perth.  He has travelled with Max to international conferences and to and from his birthplace in Germany, where he is conducting some of his PhD experiments.

And the running? Max is a Paralympian, with two Olympic Games as a middle distance runner to his name and aiming to compete in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. While Forrest usually sits and watches Max train, the pair will often run together during Max's warm-up.

Max has a UWA Sports scholarship and next weekend, on Open Day, he will be helping to man the UWA Sport and Recreation stall as well as spending time at the Guide DogsWA stand in the Centenary pavilion in the Undercroft. (The Association for the Blind and UWA have a shared history, including the same Centenary year.)

He has been blind since the age of eight, due to a genetic condition. He has some peripheral vision which enables him to run without a sighted partner.

He and his older brother began the German equivalent of Little Athletics around the time Max began to lose his sight.

"I focused on running from the age of 12 and my brother and I are both middle-distance runners," Max said.

He is very close to his brother Hannes, a vet, who is also doing his PhD in Australia, at the ANU, in immunology. Max has a degree in agricultural science from the University of Gottingen, as well as Masters degrees in agriculture and management.

The brothers hope to set up a farming consultancy together when they have completed their studies.

In the meantime, Max divides his time and energy between academic research and running training.

"A lot of people at this level of sport just train, or they study sport science or physiotherapy, something related to their sport," he said.

"People expect you to give 100 per cent to your sport, but I live two lives where I also have supervisors who expect 100 per cent concentration on my research."

His UWA supervisors, Dr Ken Flower, Winthrop Professor Kadambot Siddique, Assistant Professor Andrew Guzzomi and Dr Craig Scanlan are joined by two supervising academics at Gottingen where Max spends a few months each year.

When he's not travelling for his research, he's on the road with his running. Over the past few years he has competed in New Zealand, Brazil, Finland, the Netherlands and Greece. His best result was a bronze medal in the 2007 World Championships in Sao Paulo.

He competed for his native Germany in the Greece and Beijing Paralympics and is hoping to compete for Australia in Rio in 2016.

"I didn't compete in London because I was in the throes of changing my citizenship from German to Australian," he said.

Max trains nine times a week, often up to two hours at a time.  He has recently joined UWA graduate, triple Olympian and Commonwealth silver medallist Sarah Jamieson's Perth Running Club and does interval training.

While he has competed at the highest level in 5000m, 1500m and 800m, Max now concentrates on the 800- as well as the role of potassium in increasing drought tolerance in canola.