When 14-year-old Lisa Napoletano of Penn Forest Township tragically lost her life in 2020, the year of COVID, her mother, Melissa, lost the daughter she called her “best friend” and one she considered an “angel.”

That’s why Melissa took it upon herself to establish Lisa Napoletano Running with the Angels Inc., a nonprofit organization aimed at perpetuating the memory of the Marian freshman who was a cross country and track and field enthusiast.

“I wanted to do more than just give money (scholarships, at annual graduations). I wanted to keep Lisa’s memory alive by having her name out there so people will always remember her,” Melissa said.

Running with the Angels will hold its fifth annual 5K run in Lisa’s memory this year on May 10 along the D&L Trail, starting in Jim Thorpe. It’s an event that Melissa hopes continues to grow annually in her daughter’s name.

Melissa said the race attracts about 100 runners and walkers annually, and the proceeds allow the nonprofit to offer scholarships to Jim Thorpe and Marian track participants, as well as a summer scholarship to the Distance Running Camp YMCA in White Haven.

“This is our fifth race and our goal is to keep the race growing stronger with more participation so we can offer more scholarships to other school districts and track students in memory of Lisa,” the mother said.

About Lisa

According to the Lisa Napoletano Running with the Angels website, Lisa “was energetic and full of energy and strived to be the best she could be. She always tried new things and was looking for new opportunities.”

She died on April 5, 2020, as a result of injuries she suffered in an all-terrain vehicle crash on March 18 of that year in the area of Schoolhouse Road, north of Unionville Road, Penn Forest Township. Authorities said she was a passenger of an ATV that hit a tree and rolled over.

In a Facebook post following her daughter’s passing, Lisa’s mother said the Marian Catholic High School freshman “was much more than my daughter; she is my best friend, my first daughter and she was one of the strongest people I know. Lisa had a strong personality, which is part of what made her the amazing person she was. Her heart was so big and so full of love for her family and for her friends.”

Lisa ran cross country the previous fall for the Marian Fillies and was poised to take her talents onto the Marian track team. Previously, she ran track at the junior high school level in the Jim Thorpe Area School District.

“Her sisters (Maria and Gabriella) looked up to her,” Melissa said. “Lisa aspired to be a lawyer when she grew up, and she worked hard for everything she wanted, but her true calling was running track and cross country, which was a talent she found by accident. She fell in love with the sport.”

About the 5K

Melissa said she and others helping to organize the annual race “plan to keep Lisa’s legacy alive” with the event scheduled for May 10. Unlike races where everyone starts all at once, Running with the Angels will once again have a “rolling start” between 7 and 11 a.m. and will be based out of the train station in downtown Jim Thorpe.

The race will be 3.17 miles, starting in Jim Thorpe by the railroad and running/walking toward Lehigh Gorge State Park, proceeding about 1.55 miles along the trail before participants will wrap around and come back to town, ending in the same start location.

The “rolling start,” Melissa said, prevents crowding, explaining that runners will basically pick up their packets and run whenever they wish, with their times to be determined by a “chip” in their vest.

To register for the event, participants can go to https://lisanapoletanorunningwiththeangel.com/.