Race for Reece

This Saturday is "Reece's Roundup," a 5K run/walk and a 1-mile run/walk/roll in Castle Rock's Butterfield Park. The race is to help raise money for the family of Reece Rubino, a 20-month-old boy afflicted with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

Rubino has Type I SMA, the most debilitating form of the disease. In short, SMA is a disease that affects muscle development and inhibits functions such as breathing and eating. According to Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (FSMA), it is the No. 1 genetic killer of children under age 2.

The Rubino family is pouring its resources into making sure Reece is part of a study at Stanford University, and Reece's Roundup is a way to defray some of the family's medical costs as well as raising money and awareness for the SMA Foundation and FSMA.

Read the article on Reece Rubino in the July 20 edition of the Herald, or read it online. I don't know if I was able to do justice to the Rubinos' faith or the fact that this is a special boy. But I can go on record promoting Reece's Roundup as a worthwhile event.