Pittsburgh Advisor Is Running for a Cause

Liam was selected as the “NF Hero” for this year’s recent Chicago Marathon, Will noted. NF Heroes motivate endurance event participants throughout their training  via emails, letters, photos and videos.

Hoffman is collecting donations for Sunday’s race. So far, he has raised $7,836 in connection to the New York City Marathon, while all NYC marathoners running to fight NF have raised $139,180, according to Hoffman.

A diagnosis like NF “doesn’t always have to be bad,” Hoffman said. “You can use something like this to help change the world, and that’s kind of the example we’re trying to set.” This Sunday, “my personal goal is to run under a four-hour marathon,” he went on to say, noting it would be the first time he’s been able to do that. “It seems to be the unicorn I’ve been chasing.” 

Cheering him on will be Liam, as well as Hoffman’s wife, Jamie, and Liam’s brothers, Miles, 7, and Nolan, 5.

Whether Hoffman achieves his goal for the Marathon this Sunday or not, the prognosis for Liam is good.

Every indication is that “he should live a long, healthy life,” said Hoffman. “He does have some challenges. He just had a procedure in April … to lengthen his Achilles tendon, fix his plantar fascia muscle and his foot.” 

One potential result from NF is that the “fibromyalgia will grow on the optic nerve and cause blindness,” Hoffman said, adding NF “doesn’t fight fair, but neither do I.”

Pictured: Will Hoffman and his son Liam.