8-Year-Old Triathlete Refuses to Leave Brother Behind

If you ask 8-year-old Noah Aldrich to talk about his little brother Lucas, he answers with five simple words: “I love him. He’s perfect.”

Lucas, 6, was diagnosed with Lissencephaly – a rare disorder that affects brain development – shortly after he was born. Lucas cannot walk, talk or feed himself. But he loves to smile, especially when Noah is around.

Their bond is so tight, when Noah recently started training for a kids’ mini-triathlon near their hometown of Eagle, Idaho, he decided that he did not want to race alone.

Sign up for The Nightly newsletter from Brian Williams and the Nightly News team.

So when he hits the water to swim, he pulls a raft – with Lucas inside.

When he bikes, he pulls a stroller – with Lucas inside.

And when he runs, he pushes a stroller – with Lucas inside. And the younger brother is clearly glad to be there.

“You can see [Lucas’] smile says the whole story,” says Alissa Aldrich, the boys’ mother.

“Yeah, he lets you know he’s having a blast,” adds Brian, their father. “Just playing like brothers should.”

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

The boys ran their second triathlon together this month in Emmett, Idaho, and the duo is getting a lot of attention. A video of their first run together went viral, but that’s not what’s important to them.

“I’m just doing something with Lucas,” Noah says. “I didn’t really want to be famous.”

He just wants to make sure every single moment with his brother counts.

The family hopes all of the positive attention will help them raise money so they can build something called “Lucas House,” a place of respite for kids with life-threatening conditions.

To learn more about the family’s mission to help children with life-threatening conditions, visit www.lucashouse.org.