On July 4, 2009, Dan Berlin, out of shape and feeling depressed about the growing list of things he couldn't do as he lost his vision to rod-cone dystrophy, started to run.

Berlin, from Fort Collins, Colorado, targeted a half marathon that fall, but felt his failing vision might make him a hazard to other runners, so he asked the race director to pair him with another runner. Together, Berlin and his guide finished the half in 2:10. Soon after, they paired up again for a marathon relay, and he was hooked. “Once I experienced a big city marathon, I thought, ‘This is really cool,’” said Berlin, 45.

Fast forward to 2014. Berlin, with numerous marathons and a half Ironman under his belt, was now running epic adventures like the 46-mile, rim-to-rim-to-rim run of the Grand Canyon with several guides. That run went so well the group formed Team See Possibilities.

Their mission? To encourage and inspire people to overcome their perceived limitations. As such, they target endurance feats in iconic locations around the globe hoping Berlin can be the first blind athlete to accomplish them. Along the way, the team raises money for Denver’s Blind Institute of Technology and other organizations for the blind. In addition to Berlin, the group is comprised of Charles Scott, 47, a motivational speaker from New York City, Alison Qualter Berna, 43, co-founder of apple seeds, a play space for kids in New York City, and Brad Graff, 47, a former Intel executive from Portland, Oregon.

On October 14, the quartet completed their toughest challenge yet: the 26-mile Inca Trail in Peru, which starts at about 9,000 feet and crosses three mountain passes, the highest of which is about 14,000 feet. Berlin believes he's the first blind runner to complete the challenge in a single day.

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Use of the Inca Trail is tightly regulated, but the team’s sponsor, Intrepid Travel, secured permission from the Peruvian government for them to start early and finish late. They began at 4:30 a.m., and made the mandatory 4:00 p.m. checkpoint with two minutes to spare, and were able to continue to Machu Picchu (hiking the trail at night is forbidden). They arrived at the ancient citadel in time to watch the sun set.

Though the four had worked together before, they had to adapt their guiding techniques based on the Inca Trail's terrain. In the Grand Canyon, they’d used vocal cues, a tiring, stressful strategy for Berlin who had to be on constant high alert listening and processing their cues. On the Inca Trail they were physically linked, and Berlin could rely more on feel. And while he stumbled quite a few times, he remained upright.

Both the Grand Canyon and the Inca Trail featured sections with dramatic dropoffs, but Berlin only hears about those dangers after the fact.

“It wasn’t until after the Grand Canyon, after the Inca Trail, when people were telling me, ‘Oh my God, you would fall 1,000 feet if you went a foot to your right,’” Berlin said. “That’s why the team is so awesome—they just say, ‘Stay to your left a little bit up here.’ The worst I get is, ‘You really don’t want to go to your right.’”

While completing the Inca Trail was a tremendous accomplishment, Berlin says his trip to a school for blind children in Peru was the real highlight. “I had so many tear-filled hugs from teachers, and a couple of the girls who were there just wanted to hold my hand and stand next to me,” he said. “I loved that. If I could help inspire them, help raise awareness for them, help to say, ‘Don’t be labeled. Create your own label,’ that’s empowering for me.”

Next up for Berlin is the California International Marathon in December, which serves as the United States Association of Blind Athletes’ Marathon Championship. He’ll take a shot at lowering his marathon PR of 3:35, and plans to run the Boston Marathon in April.

Over time, Berlin, a father of two who co-owns a vanilla company in Fort Collins, has come to see his blindness as a gift.

“One of the of the most meaningful things was when my son told me he’s glad I’m blind because it allows us to do things that other fathers and sons don’t do, because he helps me,” Berlin said. “It’s just about taking what comes and making something positive out of it.”

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