A global community of runners, patients, caregivers, and advocates united by science, driven by miles, and connected by the belief that every step forward matters.
Still from “Inspired to Run”, courtesy of the Parkinson’s Foundation.
Parkinson's takes movement away a little at a time. The best evidence we have says movement is also what slows it down.
Exercise is medicine for Parkinson's, science backs it, Dan lives it.
We build the pack, runners, advocates, and supporters who show up for each other.
Every step raises awareness and hope. You just have to keep moving.
Ten million people are living with Parkinson's disease. Most of them are told, in detail, what they are going to lose. Far fewer are told the one thing the research is actually clear about: that movement changes how the disease progresses, and that doing it alongside other people is what makes you keep doing it at all.
Run With Parkinson's exists to close that gap. We get people moving, we keep them connected to each other, and we send money to the researchers trying to end this. That is the whole organization. There is nothing else in it.
Started in 2025 by Dan Alperin, days after his own diagnosis. How this started.
Figures from the Parkinson's Foundation. The research behind them is on the research page.
You do not need to be a runner and you do not need to be fast. You need to move, and you need people around you who understand why that is harder than it sounds on a bad morning.
You are carrying something nobody sees. This community is as much for the person at the barrier with the sign as it is for the person on the course.
You already put in the miles. Attach them to something. Every race entered on our behalf raises money for Parkinson's research and puts the disease in front of people who were not thinking about it.
We are about a year old. Today that means a mailing list, a group that meets in Boston on cold mornings, and a handful of runners who race with our name on their chest. That is it. That is the whole thing.
There is an advantage buried in that. The people who join now are the ones who decide what this becomes, which city runs next, and what we build first.
Be one of them ↓The Parkinson's Foundation explains it better than we can, so we are not going to talk over them.
Video courtesy of the Parkinson's Foundation
Exercise isn't just beneficial for people with Parkinson's, growing research suggests it may be one of the most powerful tools available. Here's what the science shows.
Studies show aerobic exercise may reduce motor symptom severity by up to 40% in people with Parkinson's disease.
Source: Parkinson's FoundationPeople with Parkinson's disease who exercise at least 2.5 hours per week show a slowed decline in quality of life compared to those who exercise less.
Source: Parkinson's FoundationExercise increases BDNF, a protein that supports neuron survival, growth, and the formation of new neural connections. NIH research links elevated BDNF directly to improved motor and cognitive outcomes in Parkinson's.
Source: NIH / NIA ResearchRun With Parkinson's is not a medical organization and none of this is medical advice. Talk to your neurologist before you change how you exercise.
Explore the Full Science →Team Fox is the grassroots fundraising program behind the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, which has mobilized over $2 billion in funding to date. Run With Parkinson's donates to Team Fox, because every mile we run should move the science forward.
Explore the Science →Figures as published by Team Fox and the Parkinson's Foundation.
These are not our events. The Parkinson's Foundation and Team Fox run walks across the country, and they are the fastest way to spend a morning with people who understand. Go to one. We will be at the Boston ones.
More cities are announced through the year, including Chicago, San Francisco, Kansas City and Salt Lake City. The list goes to the mailing list first.
None of this is open yet. We would rather tell you what we are building than show you a button that does nothing. Everything here opens to the mailing list first.
A run opens in a city when there are enough people there to make it worth turning up for. Tell us where you are and you move your city up the list.
Run any race, anywhere, on our behalf, with a fundraising page and something to wear. Opens as soon as the giving side is live.
Donations run through the Edward Charles Foundation, which holds the 501(c)(3). Their donation page for us is still being set up.
We have two charity entries for the Boston Marathon. No qualifying time required. What is required is a winter of training and a willingness to raise money for a cause that will not wait for you.
Apply for a bib →One email a month. What the research is showing, where the community is running next, and what opens when. No noise, and you can leave whenever you like.