Pittsburgh Marathon attracts 23k runners giving their personal best

Sydney Willig trained more than just her legs to run 13.1 miles around Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Norwin graduate, who has cystic fibrosis, also trained her lungs.

To prepare for her first half marathon, Willig woke up at 4 a.m. Sunday to use a nebulizer and vibrating vest that helps clear excess mucus from her airways. Those extra steps weren’t a deterrent, but rather a cause for celebration on the course. This is a woman whose parents were told, when she was young, that she’d be lucky to get to high school.

“Not many people with cystic fibrosis get to say they have the ability to run a half marathon,” she said.

Willig and running partner Megan Rula finished the course in two hours and 29 minutes. Rula, who works at the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, said crossing the finish line together is a testament to how medical advances are helping people who have the genetic disorder.

“That’s why the fundraising is so important,” said Rula of Shaler. “We see the results, we see the money that we’re fundraising is put directly back into research.”

The pair were among an estimated 23,000 runners in the full and half marathon Sunday in Pittsburgh. The spectacle shut down streets around the city while thousands of supporters crowded sidewalks to use signs, cowbells and their voices to cheer runners on.

The race started at 7 a.m. with fireworks as each group of runners started pounding the pavement on Liberty Avenue, Downtown. The course took them past iconic Pittsburgh sights, such as the sports stadiums, inclines and bridges, and to the East End of the city, returning through the Strip District and finishing back Downtown on the Boulevard of the Allies.

David Nelson and his uncle Brian Passmore were representing “Star Wars” on the course, in celebration of the informal holiday coinciding with the race — “May the Fourth,” as fans say. They wore matching Star Wars-themed T-shirts, and each had a character from the movies listed on their race bib.

The two live far apart but don’t let the distance stop them from being competitive with each other. Passmore lives in DuBois. Nelson is originally from there but now lives in Arkansas.

“It’s just to challenge ourselves at this point,” Passmore said.

Talking before the start of the race, the pair said they hoped to run the half marathon in under two hours. They’re trying to “earn the beers that we’re going to drink — a preemptive strike,” Nelson said.

Spectators, such as Rhonda and Chris Begeman of Hempfield, are essential participants in the race. They got a good spot on the Boulevard of the Allies before the sun came up. They were waiting for niece Holly Harper, who was running the half marathon with a group from West Virginia University.

“We’ve never been here before so we had no idea what the crowds are for the marathon,” Chris Begeman said. “Better safe than sorry.”

Some runners were the recipient of goodwill in the form of prayers and bathrooms from Sixth Avenue neighbors Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh.

“It’s an important nexus of two things I care about, my community and my church,” said Carter Hawley, deacon at the Episcopal church.

In addition to personal accomplishment, some runners use the Pittsburgh Marathon as a way to give back by supporting charities. Willig and Rula raised more than $5,000 together for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as part of the organization’s Breathe Team.

Willig’s symptoms have improved while taking Alyftrek, which was approved by the Federal Drug Administration in December. She leads an active life, participating in years past on a Pittsburgh Marathon relay team and playing soccer at Geneva College, where she is set to graduate in a few days with a degree in elementary and special education.

Her half marathon training was almost derailed after a collapsed lung, multiple infections and other issues in December. But with the new medication, and determination, Willig was able to get up to 11 and 12 miles during training sessions without having to stop.

“It’s not a typical person’s training,” she said.

It’s the same determination that prompted the WPIAL to recognize Willig as the 2021-22 recipient of its annual Courage Award.

Now, with her life stretching out in front of her, Willig hopes to break down more barriers while achieving goals that weren’t previously seen as within reach for someone with cystic fibrosis.

“I didn’t think that this was ever going to be possible,” Rula said.