Plum Native Running For Pancreatic Cancer Awareness

A Plum native is taking the challenge of running 13.1 miles in honor of his late father.

Don Furko Jr., affiliate coordinator of the Pittsburgh-area Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, has been training for months to run his first half marathon—and he's doing it all in memory of his father, Don Furko Sr., and in the name of a cure to pancreatic cancer.

Don Furko Sr.—he grew up in Oakmont, raised his family in Plum, and was the former girls' soccer coach at Plum High School—was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the fall of 2010. He died less than two months later.

Furko Jr.—a Plum High School graduate—will run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on Sunday as part of the TEAMHope program benefiting the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Last year, he ran his farthest distance of 5.5 miles in the marathon relay.

Despite the hundreds of volunteer hours he has given for PanCAN, Furko Jr. said he wanted to challenge himself to do more. After running 8.1 miles in the Just a Short Run race in North Park last month, he challenged himself even more, setting a goal of running a sub-two-hour half marathon.

And he's going to be wearing purple from head to toe—purple is the color for pancreatic cancer awareness.

Furko Jr. has admitted that he hates to run, but he's doing it for his father and the 45,220 who will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year.

To read about Forko Jr.'s journey with PanCAN, click here.

To help Furko Jr. make a difference, you can donate to his TEAMHope page by clicking here.

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