Boyce Park 5K event to raise funds for Parkinson's research

For Sean Logan, exercise is the key to having a good day.

That’s why for the third year in a row he will host a 5K and 1 mile walk in Boyce Park to raise money for the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases on Labor Day.

The institute, founded in 2006 and affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, studies neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s to find better treatments.

He chose Oakland-based PIND because the 48 year-old former state senator and Monroeville mayor met with physicians and researchers there in 2016 during the lengthy diagnosis process for early-onset Parksinson’s Disease. He continues to see them for treatment and currently serves as a chairman for the Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.

“There are all kinds of fundraisers,” Logan said. “But for us, it was exercise. It has to be every day for me. That’s why the 5K came into existence. Exercise is really important for me.”

The event has risen a little over $200,000 since it started in 2016. Logan expects to raise another $100,000 this year with the more than 635 participants.

Some of those participants include karate students at the Allegheny Shotokan Viola Karate Dojo. The students will participate in a mile-long Kick-A-Thon. The goal is to raise money to “kick” Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

“Those kids, they don’t know me. And to raise a significant amount of money and come on Labor Day and kick that mile is really quite overwhelming,” Logan said.

Logan said he wants the money raised for PIND to be “take-a-chance money.”

“With (National Institutes of Health) money and federal grants, you have to prove something,” he said, adding that such money has already made a difference.

Researchers at PIND announced in July they had discovered new qualities in a protein linked to Parkinson’s in some people. (Read about the discovery at upmc.me/2LQCdiB.)

“It says right on the funding (page), ‘partly funded by friends and family of Sean Logan,’” Logan said. “That really is something.”

Registration for the 5K and mile walk is $25 and can be done online or on race day.

Race day registration is from 7 to 8:30 a.m. The race starts at 8:45 a.m.

For more information visit PIND5K.org .

Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Dillon at 412-871-2325, dcarr@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dillonswriting.