The RUNNER/RENNER/LAUFFER surname DNA project has four main goals: (1) to clarify the number and connectedness of the various branches of Runners, Renners and Lauffers currently living in the US and abroad; (2) to examine the LAUFFER/LAUFER surname both in the US and in Germany to further clarify the ancestry of the current Runners descended from Lauffers; (3) to investigate the relationship between the RENNER surname and the Runner surname by using DNA to clarify connections between the two surnames; and (4) to knock down “brick walls” in genealogical research on the various branches of the Runner family where paper evidence is scarce.