Running for a Reason with Team Ronald McDonald House’s Courtnie Coppernoll
Courtnie Coppernoll at the 2024 Eugene Marathon holding all three of her medals from the Doublestack event.
If you were a part of the 2025 Eugene Marathon, you might have noticed a fellow runner who was talking to herself and to her phone during the race. In this era of running influencers, that’s not an uncommon sight, but for Portland runner Courtnie Coppernoll, she was doing it all for a bigger purpose: to raise funds during the race itself for Team Ronald McDonald House. The 27 affirmations that Courtnie spoke to herself and shared with her followers that day last April helped Team Ronald McDonald House of Oregon and Southwest Washington raise over $130,000 as a part of the Eugene Marathon’s Run for a Reason program — which helped 22 charities raise over $283,000 in 2025.
Each year Team Ronald McDonald House, along with many other local and national charities, utilize the Run for a Reason program as a fundraising platform and Courtnie is one of the many runners who will be back in 2026 to run for a purpose. Here’s a little bit more about Courtnie’s running journey and why she will be back on the starting line for her third straight Eugene Marathon next April.
Here’s Courtnie’s Start Line Story:
Name: Courtnie Coppernoll
Age: 34
Where are you from and where is home now? I’m originally from Michigan and I’ve been in Portland for the last 7 years.
Are you a part of a local run club or training group? Recently I got into the Thunder Thighs Track Club and I’ve been doing speed work with them. I’m also a part of the Mad Cow Brewing Run Club too, in the Gresham area.
You have run the Eugene Marathon the past two years for Team Ronald McDonald House. How has that experience been? A couple years ago, my friends encouraged me to join the Eugene Marathon team for Ronald McDonald House and it was the first time I dedicated myself to fundraising for a race and running for a purpose. I even started sharing and fundraising during the race. That year was also special, because I did the 5K the day before and got to run alongside the team captain and it was so special to learn about his story.
Last year (2025), I decided to run the marathon and I was a little bent out of shape, having sciatica issues, and I’d lost my watch, so I just decided to go with no headphones and no music; so instead I used affirmations throughout the race that reminded me of the families that use the Ronald McDonald House. It just reminded me throughout the race, and especially when it got really hard at the end, that I was doing this for the families who need it the most. I got choked up as I was finishing, and as I came onto the track; it was such an amazing experience to know in that moment that there was a community supporting me and I was supporting Ronald McDonald House and that the support just never ends.
And, on top of all that, Ronald McDonald House really takes care of their team members — the private tent and porta potties, being around the families and getting to go visit the Springfield house — it was such a huge inspiration.
Why Team Ronald McDonald House? Even before I ran for the team, I worked for a meal prep company that was right up the road from the Ronald McDonald House in Portland and we worked out a donation system for meals that were going to go to waste to go to the house instead. That was how I found out about the amazing work they do in the community and then my friends asked me to join the team for Eugene in 2024 and it was just a perfect fit.
We know there are a lot of races to choose from in the Pacific Northwest, why run Eugene again 2026?
I’m not from here, but I was a Michigan State cheerleader and we were a Nike school and I knew about Nike and Track Town USA, so I dreamed about visiting Eugene and Hayward Field someday. The community of Eugene is so special! When I ran the full marathon last year, I vividly remember being on the backstretch of the marathon course, on a quiet part of the bike path and I realized I could still hear people cheering, that far away.
Why run for a charity?
There’s multiple reasons that people start running and my hope is that people do it because they enjoy it and because it makes them feel good. I’ve been running since 2013, and it’s not that it has gotten easier over the years, but I’ve gotten stronger and I know that I wouldn’t have kept going if I didn’t have the motivation to keep running. When I started running, I signed up for races because family or friends asked me to do it, and now I’m the one convincing my friends to run with me.
I’ve run four marathons and it’s not great, being out there running for five hours, but finding a reason to keep going is what makes the difference. In training and in the race, there are always points where you’re questioning: why am I doing this? And having that extra motivation is everything. You know you are showing up not just for you, but for those families who are fighting for their loved ones in the hospital.
Current Total Marathon & Half Marathon Count:
4 marathons and 2 half marathons. I’m currently training for my third half marathon in Eugene in 2026.
What kind of training plan are you following and do you have a specific goal on race day?
I would love to hit a sub-2 half marathon and I think I’m capable of it. My training isn’t specific right now, just adding in a little more speedwork and generally working on everything — fueling, rest, recovery — the whole picture.
Fill in the blank. What I love so much about running is _____
My growth. Running without my headphones in the last two marathons, your mind goes a little crazy, but spending time with yourself and working on positive self-talk has been huge for me.
What started your running journey and why have you continued?
At MSU in cheer, running was conditioning, running was for punishment, and I was so bad at it. Over time I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable. My friends invited me to a race and I signed up for the Big 10 10K in Chicago and that was one of my first races. Then I started signing up for more races, usually because friends invited me to join them. Then when I moved out to Portland I did Cascade Lakes Relay and Hood to Coast and a Ragnar, and then I did my first marathon (the Seattle Marathon) in 2023. Then I did Eugene half in 2024 and the full in 2025. During COVID my grandpa’s health got really bad — he got diagnosed with cancer — and I was in Portland and I felt so far away and like I couldn’t do anything about it. I felt pretty helpless and then I watched the Chip Gaines documentary where he runs a marathon for cancer research and it really motivated me to run and train for a marathon to support my grandpa. I was originally inspired by the Brave Like Gabe foundation and now I run for the Ronald McDonald House. So yeah, it’s not just about running for me, it’s about running for a bigger purpose.
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Courtnie will be running alongside her Team Ronald McDonald House teammates again this April. Join her, make a donation, or find out more about Team Ronald McDonald House.