Man runs Pittsburgh Marathon wearing 11-pound vest to honor Tree of Life victims

PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh Marathon runner paid tribute to the 11 victims killed in the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting last October.

"I think it's very honoring to think of someone other than yourself and he's been practicing for quite some time at North Park, so he's been gearing up for this," said Matt Scoletti's mother-in-law, Margaret Samolovitch.

Scoletti wore a camouflage vest that weighs 11 pounds to remember the 11 victims killed in the shooting.

We're told Scoletti didn't know them personally but wanted to pay tribute to them at the marathon.

Samolovitch told Channel 11's Lori Houy that Scoletti also wrote a book called "The First Fifteen," which is about setting goals and being a position person in the world. And on Sunday -- he achieved that.

RELATED STORIES:

• Visitors from Parkland community honored before Pirates game
• Doctor who responded to Tree of Life synagogue shooting honored with Everyday Hero award
• Tree of Life starts GoFundMe for victims of New Zealand mosque attacks
• $6.3M in compassion payments to be distributed to people impacted by Tree of Life tragedy

Cox Media Group