Raleigh coffee shop owner raising money for ALS research after her own diagnosis

The eighth annual Sola Coffee Hot Mini 5k will hit the ground running at 8:30 Saturday morning.

One participant, Andrea Peet, said she hasn't let the disease slow her down, and she plans on going to all 50 states to prove it.

Peet just turned 40, which, she said, is a milestone in itself.

"I'm trying to be the first person with ALS to do a marathon in all 50 states," said Peet.

As her muscles have weakened, she's turned to a special tricycle to make her trek. Peet said it's her way of taking life by the handlebars after being diagnosed with the terminal disease.

"It's is a terrible disease," she said. "[But] you can still explore the world and travel and make memories."

In all 50 states, she's using her "Team Drea Foundation" to raise money - a half million dollars so far - for ALS research.

Peet has gotten a swallow tattoo to mark each year of her life since her diagnosis. Doctors had given her two to five years, and yet, Peet said the milestones keep coming.

"ALS takes away time, so I have the gift of time and I just want to use that," she said.

"It's not often that you get to see your partner turn into an inspiration to the community and really take something so negative and turn it into a positive," added her husband, David Peet.

John and Jeanne Luther opened Sola Coffee Cafe in Raleigh's Greystone Village in 2012. A few years later, in August 2018, Jeanne Luther was diagnosed with ALS.

"Some people don't make it six months, so I'm fortunate to be able to still be here and to be with my family," she said. "It has been an amazing time in a lot of ways, in that, when you know you are dying, you tend to be more intentional about life."

There, every year, trekking on her trike, is Andrea Peet. She has a handful of states yet to go in her marathons across America, with Alaska being her last.

"I'm going to be right there alongside her every step of the way," said David Peet.