Southpointe to host benefit 5K
Scott Garet enjoyed running through Southpointe. The undulating hills and expansive roadways are ideal for marathon training and idyllic for anyone who savors natural beauty.
Garet was a longtime athlete who played varsity soccer at Trinity High School and Waynesburg University. But despite a healthy lifestyle – he also was a non-smoker – he was diagnosed with lung cancer and died Dec. 20, 2011, at 26, following a brief battle.
On Aug. 17, in his memory, hundreds will gather in the mixed-use business and residential park and do what he loved: run there.
“My brother had done the majority of his running in Southpointe, and that led to us going to Southpointe,” said Jonathan Garet, race director for the second annual Flying Monkey 5K, which will feature a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) run and walk starting at 9 a.m. in the Crown Castle parking lot, 2000 Corporate Drive.
The pre-registration deadline is Friday at a cost of $20; the fee afterward is $25.
The Scott A. Garet Memorial Foundation is overseeing the event, with proceeds going to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute for lung cancer research.
Garet plans to have the Flying Monkey 5K on the third Saturday of August every year.
“We’re hoping to make this a big weekend event for Southpointe, to showcase the area a bit.”
For more information or to register, go to flyingmonkey5k.com. Donations may be made to Scott A. Garet Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 329, Meadow Lands, Pa. 15347.