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The quest for a cure for ALS: Hundreds to gather Saturday at the Inner Harbor

By Sean Kirst, The Post-Standard
on September 21, 2012 at 6:30 PM, updated September 21, 2012 at 6:38 PM

Jennifer Meyers/The Post-StandardThe late Lowell Smith in 2005 with his wife, Judy. Saturday's walk to raise funds for defeating ALS, at the Inner Harbor in Syracuse, is named in Smith's honor.

The annual Lowell Smith Walk to Defeat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Inner Harbor in Syracuse.

The race is named in honor of Lowell Smith, a retired executive from the Dairylea Cooperative who died in 2005 of ALS and whose family created an endowment to benefit the Upstate New York chapter of the national ALS Association. Kathy Lahey, executive director of the chapter, said the 1-mile walk may attract more than 500 participants.

Before getting underway, the walkers will hear a brief address from Tom Ruhlman, this year’s race spokesperson. Ruhlman, of Skaneateles, has a form of ALS that couples with frontotemporal dementia, a result of the degeneration of the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. Any donation from participants is welcome, although a commemorative shirt requires $50. Information on participating or donating is available here.

The event will include vendors, food and beverages, and music by the Sloppy Joes Band.