Murrysville friends to run Boston Marathon, raise money for Franklin Regional victims

EXPORT, Pa. — Three friends from Murrysville will run in the Boston Marathon after a tragedy in their community last week.

Marlo Ayres, Jason Jelovich and Kim Pekarcik will wear Franklin Regional T-shirts and #FRStrong in support of the school where 21 students and a security guard were stabbed.

"God gave us a gift, and hopefully we can use our gift to raise some funds for victims of the Franklin Regional stabbings," said Ayres.

The marathon runners are looking for sponsors willing to donate $1 for every person who tracks their progress along the marathon course.  That money would go to a fund.

"You can text 345678 our bib numbers.  For every person that tracks us, the sponsor will donate $1 to the S&T fund," said Ayres.

See attached photo for bib numbers.

For Jelovich, this is deeply personal.  He graduated from Franklin Regional High School and has two kids in the school system.

"It definitely has hit pretty close to home," he said.

WPXI