Man Running Across America Stops in Bel Air on #Run4Rare

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A runner hit the pavement in Bel Air this week as part of his third journey across America to raise awareness about rare diseases.

Noah Coughlan, 31, is in the first two weeks of his 3,100-mile journey from New York to San Diego, equipped with nothing but a stroller that has ”Run4Rare” emblazoned on it and an American flag sticking out the top.

Someone called the police on him once Tuesday in Bel Air, but that’s not uncommon, he said; people occasionally call 911 to report that he’s running with a baby on the highway (he actually keeps his laptop and supplies in the stroller so each day he can update the Run4Rare blog, designed to raise awareness about rare diseases).

“Reaction has been very positive in general,” he said. “In any state I’m going through, people honk. In Nevada, I saw a convoy of military vehicles; they started their sirens and were waving their hats. I had one lady ring a cowbell out the window in Utah.”

Once his trek is complete, Coughlan will be the first American to run across the country three times and hopes to bring the issue of rare diseases to the fore.

“It’s a very significant public health issue that nobody’s talking about,” he told Bel Air Patch.

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There are approximately 7,000 rare diseases, most of which are genetic, according to the National Institutes of Health, which reports there is insufficient research and a lack of services to help sufferers.

People with rare diseases ”should get the same chance of survival ... [as] somebody with a more common disease,” Coughlan said. “That’s what bothers me, and that’s why I run.”

Running through the ice and melting snow in Bel Air was “pretty dangerous” but he took his time.

While in Bel Air, he visited with Nick Heuchan, 18, of Overlea, who has Batten disease, and did an interview with WBAL outside the Harford Mall.

He knew Heuchan from his previous cross-country treks in 2011 and 2013, when he was running to raise awareness about Batten disease, a neurological disorder that is fatal.

Two girls from his California hometown have the rare disease, which inspired his “Run4Rare” campaign in the first place. One of them died in 2012, he said. The other, who is 16, is starting to lose her sight, he said.

During his previous two journeys, Coughlan said he didn’t get the chance to report just how many rare diseases people told him about on his travels, and he wanted to make his last run for them.

“Our goal is to educate,” he said. ”I’m not a doctor. I’m not a scientist. I’m an athlete who can run, who can get these kids on the 5 o’clock news.”

In addition to the news, Coughlan will be on the big screen by early 2016. He is being followed along on his journey by producer Ezio Lucido, who is making a documentary with Coughlan and lead singer of Papa Roach Jacoby Shaddix about “Run for Rare.”

His journey started on Feb. 28, which is World Rare Disease Day, at the Statue of Liberty; it will conclude on July 4 in San Diego at Ocean Beach, Calif. He’s documenting his trip on a blog, and next up he tells Bel Air Patch he’ll be running from Baltimore through Elkridge along US Route 1 to Washington, D.C. Follow his trip on the Run4Rare blog.

Noah Coughlan stops to meet with Nick Heuchan, 18, in Bel Air. Photo Credit: Run4Rare