Sola Coffee Café, a family-owned neighborhood café in North Raleigh, has scheduled their 8th annual Sola Hot Mini 5K, presented by Storr Office Environments, Amelia Aesthetics and Lulu.com, to take place virtually and in-person on Saturday, September 18, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. This year’s participants will be raising funds alongside Team Drea to support the Duke ALS Clinic in the fight to defeat ALS. Last year’s virtual race was a record-breaking year for the event, raising over $94,000 with more than 940 virtual runners.

The Sola Hot Mini 5k was launched seven years ago to benefit wounded warriors. It is a deeply personal cause for Sola Coffee owner Jeanne Luther, whose father was wounded during the Korean War. In 2018, everything changed when Jeanne was diagnosed with ALS. Although it may not save her life, Jeanne decided to dedicate the race to ALS research and the hope that someday a cure will be found. All participants are encouraged to run, walk, donate or purchase an “I Believe in Jeanne” t-shirt.

This year, Andrea Peet will once again kick off the start of the race. Andrea Lytle Peet was diagnosed with ALS in 2014 at the age of 33. In eight months, she went from completing a 70.3-mile half Ironman triathlon to walking with a cane. Remarkably, she has continued to participate in races. She is now up to 30 states in her quest to be the first person with ALS to do a marathon in all 50 states.

To learn more or to register for the Sola Hot Mini 5K, please visit www.solahotmini5k.com.  All proceeds benefit research to help cure ALS.