By Emily Downing, WRHS newspaper news editor

Imagine a disease that combines the worst symptoms of cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, cancer and immune deficiencies. Then imagine a child suffering from this disease: a child who will be in a wheelchair by the time he or she is 10 and who will not survive his or her teens. If you can picture this, then you have an idea of the rare and fatal genetic disease ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T). Due to the rarity of the illness (one in 40,000 births), there is very little research data on it and no cure.

This is where Tim Borland comes in. Borland decided to take the first steps towards research and, ultimately, a cure. An accomplished endurance runner from California, he is raising money for the A-T Children's Project by doing one of the only things that makes sense to him: running a marathon every day for two months (September to November).

"I am going to run 63 marathons in 63 days," said Borland, "and no, I am not crazy. I like to think I am passionate! I am a dreamer and driven by the unimaginable. I have a tendency to think outside the box and think big, and sometimes that drives my wife nuts! She wishes I would get my head out of the clouds. But, I have had a real strong desire to serve others by way of my talents and my passions!"

Added together, the total distance he will cover over the 63 days is 1,650.6 miles or 8,715,168 feet. That is about the equivalent of running from Wheat Ridge High School to New York City.

Borland plans on running his 63 marathons all across the United States. He started in Anaheim, California at the Disneyland Half-Marathon (he ran it twice), and he will finish at the New York City Marathon.

Borland was inspired by the daughter of his good friend Jim Achilles, Cathryn (who was diagnosed with the disease at age eight), to push a stroller in front of him each day that either carries a child with A-T or is empty, in memory of a child that died from the disease.

"He wanted to do something significant that had an affect on other people in a positive way," said Achilles of Borland.

That he most definitely has done. Over the past two months, he has raised tremendous amounts of money and awareness for the cause. As of now, he is over halfway done and on his 52 nd marathon today.

Borland was in Colorado from Sept. 28-30. He ran in Colorado Springs on the 28 th and in the Boulder Backroads Marathon on the 30 th. On Sept. 29, he ran his 27 th marathon at the Hope with Every Step race at Chatfield Reservoir. This specific event helps support Wheat Ridge A-T patient Kati Leasure. The event had a great turnout, although the Cure Tour only raised $6,027.00 out of their goal of $15,000.00 the race.

To learn more about Tim Borland, the Cure Tour and the A-T Children's Project, as well as how you can donate or help out, go to atcp.org.