04-05-2025
Pittsburgh Marathon honors longtime runner who died while kayaking in Tennessee
The Pittsburgh Marathon is honoring a longtime runner who died while kayaking before he could run this weekend.
Don Slusser ran in every single Pittsburgh Marathon since it began in 1985, and was a leading member of a group of eight men called the "sole survivors," who are the only ones who have done the same.
Saturday's Pittsburgh Marathon Hall of Fame ceremony was meant to celebrate longtime runners like Tom Abbott.
"I really am humbled and honored," Abbott said as he took the stage." And I thank you, and especially like to thank a friend of mine of over 50 years. He passed away about a month ago, Donnie Slusser."
Slusser, 73, died while kayaking in Tennessee. He helped to organize the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. For years, he was the one helping to make sure things ran smoothly, even if that was just handing out bags to inductees. He helped to organize the committee that voted on new inductees and collected stats on runners for them to review.
He's also the one who, months ago, informed inductees like Abbott that they'd made the Hall of Fame. They first raced each other in high school.
"I know he's up there, and he's organizing the pearly gates marathon at this minute," Abbott said. "I don't want an entry very soon, but save one."
Another "sole survivor," Tim Hewitt, also inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday, said Slusser embodied running in Pittsburgh.
"It's sad; you can't be here and not think [Slusser] should be here," Hewitt said. "I'd look at him and say, 'How can he even move,' and then I'd be worried he was going to pass me because he was that determined."
Like Hewitt and Abbott are now, Slusser was also a Hall of Famer. He was part of the inaugural class in 2009, a product of his achievements during races and the lifetime more than 200,000 miles he had run.
"If you had a bad race, he'd say, 'Come on, come up next week, there's another race,'" Abbott said.
Marathon Course Director Melissa Cade, who also helps organize the Hall of Fame ceremony, said Slusser ran with grit, heart, and humility.
"He gave advice without ego. He gave support without any condition, and kindness without hesitation," Cade said.
She grew emotional as she was close to wrapping up a speech she delivered about Slusser at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
"In a world moving too fast, Don slowed things down by putting one foot in front of the other over and over again for the right reasons," Cade said. "Pittsburgh has lost a true original, but Don Slusser's legacy will echo on every trail, track, and quiet morning sidewalk."
A story she said that was not just written in race times, but the lives he touched.
"We're going to run with empty hearts and for me this [race] will be in his honor," Hewitt said.
On Sunday, five runners will participate in a relay, passing along Slusser's final printed bib and taking it across the finish line one more time.
During the ceremony, Louis Kusher was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was part of the group that brought the race back to the city after a six-year absence.
He detailed the struggles they faced, saying they lacked credibility.
"For us, it was a dream," Kushner said. "Pittsburgh needed to have a marathon. You couldn't be a big league city without a marathon, so we persevered."
Kushner can now admit they managed that first marathon on "a wing and a prayer."
They were ready to call 2,000 runners a success. Instead, they had thousands more and were forced to cut off registration at 10,000, he said.
