Dec 2, 2003 By Melissa Williams Schofield For The 6 min read

NORTH BELLE VERNON – Albert Stancato knows what it feels like to have a sick baby. Doctors thought his son, Albert Jr., was suffering from leukemia when he was 8 months old. Stancato thought the outlook was grim. It turned out that his second-oldest son didn’t have leukemia after all, but he was suffering from Mediterranean anemia.

His was a happy ending. His son, now 41 years old, is leading a happy and healthy life.

Stancato never forgot what that felt like, not knowing what the future would hold for his son. He felt helpless while sitting at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. So he’s spent the last seven years of his life trying to help others who are diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma.

His motto in life is simple: “If you feel good, you look good.” At 73 years old, the North Belle Vernon resident attributes walking 12 miles a day – six of them in the morning and six in the afternoon – to feeling fit.

But vanity is far from the reason why he walks.

Stancato never thought about entering races competitively. It wasn’t until his second-oldest daughter, Monica Boyd, 46, of Hollywood, Fla., an avid runner who participates in marathons, suggested her dad enter a competitive 5K walk at the Orange Bowl in Florida, where she, too, was competing. He was shocked that he finished third in his age group. That was 20 years ago. He hasn’t stopped walking since.

He’s not a fair-weather walker. He goes out every day, rain or shine, snow or ice, or in 90-degree plus temperatures. He always takes the same route and people toot their horns at him. He makes use of his time while walking, getting up-to-date news reports by listening to the radio on his earphones. He eats healthy. His menu consists of plenty of vegetables, salads, pasta, fish, fruit and steak once a week. He tries to avoid desserts. The 5-foot, 5-inch man said he keeps the pounds off and maintains his 155-pound weight.

He’s gone through countless pairs of walking shoes and can’t even venture to guess how many miles he’s put on the old pairs he’s traded in for new ones.

He started walking after retiring from the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Mill in Monessen in 1983.

“When I did that first race at the Orange Bowl, I was shocked at how I did,” said Stancato, who has competed in countless local race walks, usually placing in his age group. He’s walked the legendary Mount Summit Challenge race in Hopwood and always comes home with a trophy.

He placed first in his age group four times and second twice.

Though Stancato liked participating in local races, he’s graduated to marathons, walking in 26.2-mile competitions. He didn’t want to do it for himself.

He wanted to help others, remembering how he felt when his son was sick. He figured he could help others who needed it the most, just by doing what he does best.

He’s competed in race walks all over the globe and finished third in his age group in a marathon in Munich, Germany, on Sept. 28, to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

He finished in six hours, 22 minutes. His daughter, Monica, walked with him. He’s raised $65,000 to date. To qualify for a marathon, he needs to raise $3,500 in pledges.

He’s done 10 marathons in Alaska, Honolulu, London, Ireland, Bermuda, Greece, Venice, Paris, and Sweden. In the Athens marathon in 1999, he was one of 50,000 participants and placed first in his age group, crossing the finish line in five hours, 45 minutes.

He went to the state Senior Games in Shippensburg three times, participated in the International Senior Race in Bermuda and came in third in his age group in the National Senior Games in Honolulu.

His daughter has done five marathons with him.

He said the competition in his age group is tough. There are usually about 500 competing for the gold, silver and bronze.

He’s already starting to raise money for a competition in Amsterdam next year.

Though the entire fund-raising trip cost $6,500, Stancato must raise $3,500 on his own. The remainder of the cost is picked up by sponsors to pay for his flight and hotel stay.

He’s placed aluminum cans at area restaurants and supermarkets and has stood in front of Belle Vernon’s Super Wal-Mart to collect money so he can walk to raise money for research to help someone plagued with leukemia or lymphoma.

Stancato isn’t the only one who wants to do good for others. More than $350 million has been raised for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to use for research and patient services. The society’s mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.

Stancato dutifully wears an armband with the person’s name inscribed for whom he is walking in a marathon.

Although the money he raises is for the society’s Team in Training for research and many have been helped because of his diligent efforts, not all the stories have a happy ending.

“Four of mine that I walked for died. When they’re small like that, their immune system shuts down. If they get a cold, they get sick and die,” Stancato said.

The most difficult part was going to see the family after one of his patients died.

“That’s hard,” he said.

Stancato said he walks to help others, but his own health has benefited because of it. The walking helps arthritis in his back and the constant exercise helps ease pain in his bad knees. Because he was always working, he never competed in athletic competitions.

He was a halfback and fullback for Monessen High School’s football team. A broken wrist forced him to quit. He never played again.

After graduating in 1949, he went into the U.S. Army from 1949-51 and was in the Army Reserves for four years before going to work in the mill.

His children are proud of what he’s accomplished. They include Debra Boyd, 51, of Daytona, Fla.; Monica Boyd; Albert Stancato Jr., of Indianapolis, Ind.; and Christopher Stancato, 32, of Hollywood, Fla. He also has two grandchildren.

Stancato hopes what he does will help others.

“I was lucky with my son,” he said. “I just hope I’ve helped in some small way, to find a cure.”