Central Ohio community comes together for 44th marathon to give back

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — The 44th annual Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon and Half Marathon is in the books. More than 13,500 runners took part in the race on Sunday morning that started and finished at North Bank Park.

A central Ohioan took home first place in the full marathon with a time of 2:17:08.

“I just didn’t look back, you know?” the men’s marathon winner Jake Bertelsen, of Powell, said. “I just put one foot in front of the other and just ran my race.”

He shattered his personal record by more than 20 minutes.

Grandview’s Christina Murphy was the women’s winner with a time of 2:41:31; this marked her third Marathon championship, having won in 2013 and 2018.

For the half marathon, James Ngandu, of Kenya, won his sixth straight half marathon with a time of 1:04:06, while Hannah Wymer, of Findlay, won the women’s half marathon with a time of 1:17:08.

The runners hailed from all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and 11 countries, Nationwide Children’s Hospital said.

While many runners came to the race to test their speed, it was also a way to give back.

The Columbus Marathon has partnered with Nationwide Children’s Hospital for more than a decade. Part of that includes 24 of the 26.2 miles having a dedicated Mile Champion. These are patients who all got to choose a theme for their own stretch of the course.

“My mile is Taylor Swift because she’s very inspiring and she helped me get through all of my surgeries,” said Isabella, Mile 13 Champion.

For the first time, there was also a start and finish line champion. Allison Berry was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, when she was 18. It came back again this year and she’s using her journey as inspiration to be there for others.

“I’m here to advocate for other children that are in my situation. I just want to show them that there is a possibility to still get out there, still live life, still enjoy the time that you have here,” said Berry.

Another participant, Mike Ray , was running a different kind of marathon. Currently a patient at The James Cancer Center, Ray was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in 2020, having had between 24 and 30 tumors since, and is currently hospitalized for a colonoscopy surgery on Monday.

Ray wasn’t letting that stop him, though. He took part in the marathon from the hospital, walking in three-mile shifts both inside and outside The James beginning before 7 a.m. Sunday. Throughout his effort, doctors continually took his vitals, provided him with his medication, and offered advice and support.

Ray said his biggest regret was not receiving his medal for taking part in his first marathon.

The hospital said it raised $1 million this year, with that number still growing, and more than $14 million has been raised since 2012 through the race.

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