The 19th annual Sean T. Smith Memorial — Just a Short Run will be held March 30 benefiting local charities working to eradicate leukemia and blood borne cancers. It is held in honor of Sean who died in 1995 from leukemia at the age of 25, according to his brother and race director, Kevin Smith.

The run hosts multiple options for the runner or walker, perfect for someone training or those just wanting to participate for a good cause.

Registration price for the 5K Run and Walk is$45, 8.1 miles is $45, the half marathon is $70, and the 30K is $70, according to Andrew Glod, of Pro Bike and Run. He said registration can be done the day of the event.

Just A Short Run is produced and managed by LightSpeed Race Management in cooperation with its sister company Pro Bike + Run, according to justashort run.com.

This running tribute is perfect for Sean who was an “extremely healthy and super fit” athlete, Kevin said. However, one day he didn’t feel quite right after competing in a beach volleyball tournament at the age of 24. After feeling a nodule, he went to a local emergency care medical center and an “astute” doctor who happened to be on call that night noticed his blood cells were abnormal, said Kevin.

Already a Cleveland resident, Sean soon found himself receiving treatment at the Cleveland Clinic for an extremely aggressive version of leukemia. He was No. 7 in the eight-sibling family, originally from Cleveland. Kevin had just moved from Milwaukee to North Fayette, Pa., where he lives now, making it easier to visit Sean during the treatments.

“He fought a good battle,” Kevin said. His brother passed away at age 25.

Kevin, 53, said many people use this race day to train for the upcoming Pittsburgh Marathon in May, including the half marathon and 30K. The 8.1 mile run is an idea from a local runner Harry Green of Beaver County who, then in his 60s, said the 5k was too short, but the half marathon was too far, said Kevin.

Green, who is a member of the Big Beaver Big Dawgs is now in his 70s and is also a leukemia patient , Kevin said. He now walks the race and takes photographs.

The 30K begins at 8:30 a.m. at the North Park Boathouse parking lot on Pearce Mill Road, and the rest at 8:35 a.m. at the nearby tennis courts, according to www.justashortrun.com.

The name of Just a Short Run comes from, not only the shorter portions of the race, but also because they hand out shorts for participants instead of the usual T-shirts, said Kevin.

All finishers in all four distances will receive custom finisher medals.

Kevin said it’s designed to be more of a “fun event” with photo opportunities, a DJ and food at the end, he said.

A Complimentary Pilates class is available to registered runners who have signed up for the pilates PPU. Club Pilates, RowHouse, and Brooks Running Co. are sponsors for this event.

They averaged about 1,200 over the past five years, with one year as high as 2,500, Kevin said. They have participants coming from more than 30 states. So far this year, there are people registering as far as Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, New York and Colorado, to name a few.

For more information or to register ahead of the event, visit justashortun.com.

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