Run for the Mario Lemieux Foundation!

The Mario Lemieux Foundation is an official charity sponsor of the 2010 Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon.

Raise money for cancer and neonatal research and for Austin's Playroom Project, which strives to improve the quality of a child's hospital experience whether as a visitor or as a patient!

Charity registration for the 2010 Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon is closed.
Thank you to all the runners who signed up to run for the Mario Lemieux Foundation!
Please cheer on the TEAM LEMIEUX runners on May 2!

MLF Marathoners Share Their Stories

Kyle Lux , 2010 Half Marathon

My marathon inspired story begins a little over 9 months ago when I ran in my first competitive race; the 21st Annual Gatorade/Steelers 5K. I don't quite remember my reason for signing up at the time, perhaps to kick-off the Steelers regular season or maybe it was because I wanted to try something different. Whatever the reason was, I am so grateful that I did because after I ran in that race I was absolutely hooked on running as a way to give back to the community.

After feeling really good of my efforts in the Gatorade/Steelers 5K race I decided to challenge myself even further and signed up immediately for the 10K City of Pittsburgh Great Race the following month. I trained very hard leading up to the race and set a goal of completing the race within one hour. I am proud to say that despite the bad weather on race day, I successfully accomplished my goal and far exceeded my initial expectations. The feeling of pride and accomplishment I felt after completing that race were unmatched to anything I had ever done before.

After completing those two races, I took some time off and debated on whether or not to really take the next big step and register for the Pittsburgh Marathon. Then one day in February, I decided to finally take the leap and sign-up. When I went to register I noticed that I could sign up and run for a charity of my choice. Well, seeing since I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and have greatly admired the hard work and dedication that Mario has demonstrated to this great city both on and off the ice, it was a no-brainer for me to choose The Mario Lemieux Foundation as my charity for this years race. I thought that running for the MLF could be my way of saying "Thank You" to Mario and his wife, Nathalie, for all the magnificent things that they have done for the city of Pittsburgh. I only hope next year that I will be able to run in the full marathon and raise even more money for the foundation.

Thank you Mario for all that you have done and continue to do!

Kyle Lux

Charles Oshurak, 2010 Half-Marathon

Losing a parent to cancer as a young child and growing up the son of a single parent impacts me as a person everyday of my life. In nutshell, it's made me the person that I am today.

While I vividly remember visiting my dad in his hospital room at the age of 6, as if it occurred yesterday, I realize that memory happened over 28 years ago. Mom would always let me take my matchbox cars or G.I. Joes in an attempt to keep me entertained during the visit, but at such an age I can't imagine that it worked out as well as planned. I remember a couple of days later lying in a bed at my half-sister's house when my mom and a couple of my half-sisters came into the room in the morning. I didn't have to be an adult to know that something was wrong, but having my mom say to me "Chuckie, Daddy won't be with us anymore." obviously, confirmed my prior feelings.

This would be the first of two husbands that my mom would bury from cancer, as well as her older brother and only sibling. I need to look no further than several other aunts and uncles on my dad's side, family members and friends of the family of my wife Diane, coworkers, coworkers spouses and other professional friends and mentors to see the impact that cancer has had personally on my life. Many of them and their families have been victorious in these battles, while sadly too many others have not.

Beginning to understand cancer's impact outside of your personal circle can be even more alarming. While traveling for work over the past couple of months, I actually had an individual approach me while I was eating dinner out of town and wearing one of my Livestrong t-shirts. A gentleman came up to me and began talking to me about losing his father to cancer a years back and his involvement with cancer research ever since. I mentioned to him that I was currently training to run in my first half marathon and was running for the Mario Lemieux Foundation. After 15 minutes of conversation, this gentleman came over shook my hand, thanked me for the conversation and handed me $20, asking me to put it towards my goal. He ended by saying if I begin to get tired, always think of RAN. Which I smiled, slightly confused but as the man walked away he turned back around and said "my name is Ronald Alan Nelson Jr.," good luck.

It was at that point that I decided to officially devote my MLF race jersey to the initials of all of those individuals, including RAN, that have faced this deadly disease.

We can't thank everyone enough for both their financial and emotional support. Combining this with the lifelong strength and support I have always received from my mom and my wife, Diane, training to run for the Lemieux Foundation, Austin's Playroom Project and cancer research as my first race since high school no longer seems impossible.

While I was brought up by my mom to never question my elders, I need to politely correct her "Mom, Daddy will be with us on May 2nd."

Karen Walch, 2010 Pittsburgh Half-Marathon

My story starts about a year and a half ago. I got an email from my friend, Christina Grix, that she was going to run in the Race for a Cure in Pittsburgh. Well, I sent an email back to her saying that I would run with her. After I hit the send button I thought to myself, "what did I just do?". I was a couch potato, diagnosed as a pre-diabetic and hadn't run since I was a kid. I trained hard and finished in just over 30 minutes, not record breaking but I finished strong. I was hooked on running.

I ran the Great Race in Pittsburgh that September. In November I had gone to my doctor and was told that my diabetic medication could be cut in half and possibly off of it in the next 6 months. I had thought about running the Pittsburgh Marathon but thought the 26.2 miles was well out of what I could accomplish in a short amount of time. When I saw they offered a Half Marathon, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I found a training program online and began training and working hard. I don't have anyone to train with so I have to dig deep and push myself since I don't have a buddy to help me through the rough parts.

When I registered for the Half Marathon I noticed that you could run for a charity. I took a look at the charities and found the Mario Lemieux Foundation. For the past 2 years my 14 year old son, Brenden, has played hockey for the Pittsburgh Junior Penguins with Mario being his coach. It was a no brainer for me to run for the Mario Lemieux Foundation. I see on a regular basis how important this charity is not only to Mario, but to his wife Nathalie. They have given so much to my family, my son's hockey team and Pittsburgh that I thought it was a small way to thank them. After one of our hockey games I was speaking with Nathalie and she asked me where I find the energy to train for the marathon. Trying to be a good role model for my children, Brenden and Abby, is where I get a lot of the energy and knowing that I can help Mario and Nathalie's charity keeps me going. Mario has teased me about only running the half so I guess I will be running the full marathon next year..at least that is my goal. I still can't believe I am able to run 13.1 miles!

Mario and Nathalie, thanks for all you do.

Karen Walch

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