While some may be stuck with the meaning of walking a mile in someone else's shoes, Ron Davis has walked nearly 8,000 miles in the minds of others.
The 56-year-old Schaller native and resident who received his heart transplanted in January 2022 will add another 13.1 miles to his personal odometer while walking through the Pittsburgh half marathon on Sunday.
“I walk every day, and I love walking,” Davis said. “That's how I try to honor my donors and stay as healthy as possible.”
Davis and his sister, Sheri Kirk of Sharpsburg, participate in more than 46,000 people. Dick's Sports Goods Pittsburgh marathonthe most anticipated ever.
The Half Marathon course follows many of the same paths of a 26.2-mile full marathon, but returns after the Birmingham Bridge. The race begins on Liberty Avenue and finishes on allied boulevards in downtown.
Davis said he first walked the half marathon in 2024, at the suggestion of his sister, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and is also an avid pedestrian.
“She wanted to see if we could do that,” he said. “I walk that much in a day from time to time, so I knew I could do that. She didn't know if she could.”
Davis's own heart was too weak to keep him alive as a result of cancer treatment. He was 19 years old when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and he was subjected to chemotherapy and radiation that damaged the left ventricle of the heart.
He survived a widow heart attack in May 2007 at the age of 37.
“They said I died twice on the operating table,” he said.
Davis lived with a pacemaker defibrillator for 15 years, until his only option deteriorated until he was implanted or death.
It wasn't shocking news when people were told that a heart transplant was needed.
“At that point, I was deteriorating very quickly, so I took it very well,” he said. “I just wanted to feel better.”
After being rejected for transplants elsewhere due to poor health, Davis was accepted at Allegheny General Hospital, said his transplant psychologist Dr. Matthew Lander.
If patients have too many red flags, Lander said some groups and programs don't want the risk of surgery to be greater than profits and poor results with limited resources.
“Unfortunately, everyone knows that mind is a limited resource,” he said.
Lander said what he accomplished in walking since his transplant was “surprising.”
“We may have promoted a new mind, but I think the engine that really drives him is his own,” he said. “It's impressive to see. You don't usually see that effort and dedication. It's pretty special that he's playing a half marathon.
“It's great to see him go to it to be in his death bed in the ICU.”
Davis and his 23-year-old wife, Pamela, have a daughter and grandchild.
Davis doesn't know much about his donor, but that's all, he was a man between the ages of 18 and 26. “My mind is young. The rest of my body's muscles are getting older,” he said.
He averages eight miles a day, sometimes more. He walks the riverwalk from Milvale to Pittsburgh, returning a few days ago, but to others he roams around Ridge Park in O'Hara. Organ Recovery Center and education.
“It's an incredible feeling to be able to walk at just the pace I walked. For 15 years I couldn't get close,” he said. “This would have been impossible without someone making the decision to become an organ donor.”
Instead of listening to music, Davis's own idea is his walking companion.
“When I get out there, I enjoy it. I just love walking,” he said. “My first 30 minutes, I pray. That's my morning prayer. Then I just see everything there is. God has so many beautiful pieces there.
He will enjoy the scenery and people at the half marathon on Sunday.
“The people who support you are just amazing,” he said. “Just completing a half marathon and showing you what you can do if you have a transplant, you'll be immersed in everything and honoring your donor.”
Brian C. Littmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and alumnus of Penn State's Schleier Honorary College, has been with the tribe since December 2000.
