“I have rough moments sometimes and real rough ones knowing my family is going through this, not just me.”

“E.J.’s a big dreamer and most people who get big ideas have trouble following through. I know I do. But I learned very quickly that when E.J. puts his mind to something he achieves it. When he came up with the idea for the 12 consecutive marathons, I knew it would happen.”

Activist E.J. Scott is slowly going blind. The 36-year-old, who is best known for datingsexy redhead, Deborah Ann Woll, recently started running marathons to raise awareness on choroideremia. That hard to pronounce term is actually an eye disease that will get worse over time, eventually leading to tunnel vision and, finally, blindness.Since January of 2012, the man has been running marathons at the rate of one per month in order to raise money for the Choroideremia Research Foundation. Despite not being a true runner at heart, the man has 12 marathons in 12 states penciled in for this year. Scott recently told Men’s Fitness , that despite the challenges of racing and not always reaching his fundraiser goals, he plans to continue through at least December of 2012. It’s his family that keeps him steady.Scott says he will be blind by age 50, which is why the need to train for a set of marathons seemed more pressing than ever when he came up with the idea some time ago. Over the years after he was diagnosed at the age of 27, the activist has had to quit working, give up his drivers license, and stay inside as often as possible. His girlfriend, Woll, says the marathons are a way to help the cause, but also to give him a reason to key working to achieve.When life gets you down, it’s easy to call it quits, but Scott’s story proves there are alternatives beyond giving in to unfortunate luck. You can read more about Scott (and Woll’s) story in the November issue ofphoto credit @ejscott.com