PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Radnor Township man is raising awareness for his cause by not running a 26.2-mile marathon.
Norman Lazarus, who is seeking a kidney donor, is participating in the viral Home Run Marathon on Saturday, along with 33,000 others across the country.
TikTok user Kyle Scheele created the fake marathon trend as “a way to get all that superiority of running without any of that pesky effort,” and it quickly picked up speed among “runners.”
“You don’t even have to get out of bed on race day,” said Lazarus.
Many are just doing it just for kicks on social media, but Lazarus is using it as an opportunity for something greater.
“It very quickly evolved into a way to hopefully promote the fact that I am currently searching for a living kidney donor,” he said. “Even though I’ve been on the waitlist for three-and-a-half years, the average time for a transplant in Pennsylvania is seven.”
Lazarus is training for his faux marathon by watching movies like “Marathon Man” and “Chariots of Fire,” eating plenty of cheesesteaks, and sharing his story online.
“I’m hoping (people) will learn how important organ donation is,” he added, “and that they can make a difference in one person’s life in a way that is incredibly significant.”