Team Noah Runners Wine & Dine Their Way to the Finish Line

In early November, cooler air was beginning to prevail in Central Florida, making it the perfect time for an evening run. Team Noah runners, who had been fundraising and training for months, arrived at The Walt Disney World® Resort to participate in runDisney’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Our staff, who had been preparing for this event, made preparations for the race and its related festivities.

For the first time, Noah’s Light Foundation hosted a booth at the runners’ expo, where we met most of our Team Noah runners face to face – it was so nice to finally put their names and inspiring stories to their faces! We also had the opportunity to meet hundreds of new people, many of whom were interested in joining Team Noah in future races and in finding ways to help spread the light of our mission. The expo was a success in several ways, including for recruitment of new runners! Many people signed up at our expo booth to run with Team Noah in the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend races and Disney Princess Half Marathon.

For this event, Team Noah was 40 runners strong and together they raised over $50,000 – our biggest run total yet! They recruited their family, friends and co-workers to be part of their own “teams” – and Team Noah – by asking them to raise funds to support The NOAH Protocol. Several runners even engaged their employers’ support and acquired matching gifts to their campaigns. Special thanks for this to GE Capital, Eaton Vance, Enterprise Holdings, First Data and Deloitte Consulting, who donated through their United Way campaign.

Our team’s performance in the run was nothing short of phenomenal, too. There are several notable achievements to recognize. We had a returning Team Noah member, Adam Honeckman, who ran his second half-marathon with our team. Another runner, Brandon Lutzy, ran his first half-marathon ever with the support of his mother, sister and brother. Joey McColl, our Florida native, finished with an impressive time of 1:44:31 and was the first Team Noah member to cross the finish line. She placed ninth in her division and was the 56th woman to finish overall. All of our runners finished ahead of the minimum time required and we feel that in itself is quite the achievement. Congratulations to all of our Wine & Dine Team Noah Members on a race well run.

In the coming months, Team Noah will host runners in the Walt Disney World Marathon, the Disney Princess Half Marathon and the Expedition Everest Challenge. We hope for more returning runners and to meet a lot of new teammates as well. If you’d like to use your healthy habit of running to improve your health and the health of children diagnosed with brain cancer, join Team Noah. With your help, we NOAH cure is possible!