#runyon 5k

    For the upcoming Runyon 5K, Steve Stears has enlisted a team that is “United Against Cancer.” Already 17 members strong, the team is in first place raising funds for the Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium on August 3rd.

  “There are some great cancer charities out there, but I like the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation because it focuses on innovation, the research and development aspects that enable people to drive their ideas forward,” says the 44-year-old from Nanuet in Rockland County.

  Originally from the south coast of England, Stears has lived in the United States for the last decade. As Director/Team Leader for Manufacturing at Pfizer, he is responsible for Biotech Operations at the Pearl River site.

  “I am proud to say that I’ve always been associated with the manufacture of oncology products and seen the impact they've made,” he says. “There is so much opportunity to do more in this space.”

  On a personal level, cancer has touched those around him. “I lost an uncle to cancer in 2008, my mother in 2011 to breast cancer, and my father at the end of last year to lung cancer,” he says. “It’s a compelling reason to get off your butt and do something.”

 This August 3rd will mark the third time he has taken part in the Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium. While he’d signed up in 2011, his mother passed away during that time so he wasn’t able to participate, although his wife, Nicola, did.

  “Nicola said it was a unique experience,” he says.

  While he and his wife initially divided into two teams – his wife’s known as Shirley’s Angels, after his mother – they have since merged into one to run the race and fight the battle together.

  Colleagues from Pfizer's Research and Development and Manufacturing units are among the team members (and he hopes the team’s membership will grow to 25 by the time of the event).

  And, he adds, “In addition to the Yankee fans, we have Mets fans running, Red Sox fans running. It’s an eclectic mix.”

  When he steps into the stadium in August, he will be motivated by the promise of future innovation, progress supported by Damon Runyon.

  “That is my main motivation,” he says. “It is important that people keep coming back to the stadium for this event, or participating as donors. It’s a great experience and I encourage more people to do this.”

(Pictured, left to right: Mike Marando, his mother Kathy, brother Matthew, father Joe, and sister Melissa.)

When Mike Marando heads to Yankee Stadium on August 3rd, it won’t be to see his favorite baseball team. It will be to run for a cause - and celebrate an important anniversary.

  August 3rd, 2014, will mark a year and a day since the 25-year-old was deemed cancer-free after undergoing surgery to remove a testicular tumor. The diagnosis triggered a rollercoaster of emotions, he says, and the experience has made him into a stronger, healthier person.

  He took up running in the aftermath of the surgery and began participating in long distance runs, taking part in his first 10K earlier this year. He’s signed up for his first New York City Marathon this November.

  But first, August 3rd represents an important step forward for him. The Bay Ridge, Brooklyn resident will be participating in the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation’s sixth annual Runyon 5K.

  “Last year a friend whose relative was afflicted with breast cancer wanted me to do it with her but I was busy. Then a few weeks later I was diagnosed with testicular cancer,” says Marando, who was born and raised in Commack, Long Island. “When you find out, it’s depressing; you are scared. To me, it was a challenge in my life that I knew I had to overcome.”

  Marando had surgery in July 2013, and was declared cancer-free in early August.

  A special education math teacher at the Charles O. Dewey Middle School (MS 136) in Sunset Park, he serves as the school’s advisory to the National Honor Society. “I let these young adults know about the importance of fundraising and donating to charities. That’s my mission in life, to help others. That’s why I became a teacher, so I can help kids,” he says.

  And that’s why he’s stepped up to the plate this summer. He’s formed a 7-member team – the Pirates of the Cureibbean – and will be running the 5K with his girlfriend and members of both of their families (including his brother and sister – the three are triplets).

  “There are always ways in which you can overcome challenges,” he says. “I now love running and since it’s going to be a one-year anniversary of being can cancer-free, it is a great opportunity to help fight cancer and to do something I love.”

  An added bonus is the venue in which he will mark the occasion.

  “I am a diehard Yankees fan,” he says. “The only place I would have a difficult time doing this would be in Boston!”