An event celebrating Pittsburgh-area runners who are raising funds for ALS — commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — is scheduled next month at a Blawnox brewery.

More than 50 runners with Team Challenge ALS are registered to participate in the 2023 Pittsburgh Marathon on May 1, and a kickoff celebration is scheduled for April 28 at Old Thunder Brewing Co.

“We want to celebrate our runners and thank them for fundraising and running to raise awareness for the ALS community,” said co-organizer Amber Letters, development manager for the ALS Association Western Pennsylvania Chapter. “We invite anyone to join us and learn more about getting involved with the ALS Association.”

ALS — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing progressive weakness and loss of voluntary movement. There is no cure.

Gehrig, a first baseman for the New York Yankees and widely regarded as one of the best baseball players of all time, contracted the disease, and it ended his career in 1939. He died in 1941.

Letters’ father was diagnosed with ALS in 2018 and died in 2021.

“The ALS Association went above and beyond for my family, and I feel so honored to be able to work for this organization,” Letters said.

Last year, the Pittsburgh Marathon ALS Team raised $34,000.

This year’s goal is $45,000.

The team is accepting new members. Anyone interested in joining is asked to email Anna.Patsch@als.org for more information.

To register online, click here.

Letters of O’Hara partnered with her colleague, Kristi Marsili of Shadyside, to organize the Blawnox event.

“We pride ourselves in being the largest private funder, after the government, for ALS research,” Marsili said. “Our goal is to make ALS livable for everyone, everywhere, until we cure it.”

To date, ALS has committed $53 million to ALS research.

Josh Taylor, co-owner of Old Thunder Brewing, is a second-year ALS local sponsor. His brewery serves as a starting and stopping point for weekly training runs.

“Support for the ALS foundation is near and dear for me and my wife’s family, so when the opportunity came about to be involved with the Western Pennsylvania chapter, it was a no-brainer to support them in whatever way we could,” said Taylor of Ross.

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