by: Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy
The Race to End Duchenne program is celebrating our 20th anniversary in 2025, and we spent the weekend of January 8-12 kicking it off at the place where it all began – the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, presented by State Farm! It was a special weekend for our community, where we came together to run, walk, roll and have fun, while continuing to raise funds and awareness in the fight to end Duchenne. The weekend was full of smiles, hugs, and countless memories made for families, friends and loved ones who joined the Race to End Duchenne team to make a difference.
We cheered on 185 runners across 4 days of races, from the family-friendly 5K to the Full Marathon, including 23 people who completed the Dopey Challenge (5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Full Marathon on consecutive days) and 20 Goofy Challenge runners (Half Marathon and Full Marathon). Four participants – Garrett Sapp, Seth Cate, Michael Gaglianone, and Conner Curran – rolled to the finish line in their chairs, representing our fierce Duchenne and Becker community to the fullest!
For the second year in a row, team member Jack Napoli won the 10K race, this year with a time of 35:26! Many of our team members set PRs, crossed finish lines for the first time, and completed new and longer race distances than they’ve ever done before, and we couldn’t be more proud of each of them.
A highlight of the weekend was coming together Friday evening for our Team Celebration Dinner, where we honored several members of the community. Brian Denger and Mike Gaglianone were recognized for participating in every Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend since our program began in 2005. Team Danny bestowed the Make Every Day Count Award upon Mike & Suzanne Gaglianone for demonstrating their team’s mantra, and living every day to the fullest. And our Racing For Every Future Team Award was presented to team Run4Will, who’ve participated in the Race program since 2011 and have part of our Walt Disney World Marathon team since 2013, raising more than $125,000 over the years.
The Race to End Duchenne community is a special one, and we hope you’ll help us celebrate two decades of taking action by joining one of our race teams, or by participating in an endurance event in your community! Find out how to get involved in the Race to End Duchenne in 2025 and beyond.
