The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon & ½ Marathon is pleased to announce its “Patient Champions” who will represent 24 of the 26 miles on this year’s course. The other two miles along the Marathon route will be deemed the “Encore Mile” and “Angel Mile,” and many miles will be sponsored by a corporate or community organization.
After reviewing dozens of submissions of personal stories submitted through social networking sites and the hospital’s website, Patient Champions, who are current or former patients of Nationwide Children’s, were selected by a committee of hospital staff based on various criteria, including diversity of diagnosis, age and enthusiasm to cheer on race participants at their mile. A full list of Patient Champions can be found below.
The Encore Mile will feature Patient Champions who were honored along the race route the previous four years. The Angel Mile is dedicated to the angels of Nationwide Children’s who have already run their race. The Angel Mile will be lined with banners and represented by families celebrating the lives of their children while cheering on participants.
Marathon and ½ Marathon participants are encouraged to serve as “Children’s Champions” and raise donations on behalf of Nationwide Children’s. In the past four years, between participants’ fundraising efforts, corporate and community sponsorships and matches by the Marathon board, more than $4.5 million have been raised for Nationwide Children’s. To register to become a Children’s Champion, please click here.
Partners that have committed to sponsoring a Miracle Mile along the 2016 Marathon route include: Platinum Sponsors L Brands, Nationwide and The Columbus Dispatch; Gold Sponsor Cardinal Health; and Silver Sponsors Alliance Data, Big Lots, CampusParc, Clif Bar, EAS Sports Nutrition, Fifth Third Bank, Germain Automotive Partnership, Kohl’s Department Stores, Kroger, Leaderpromos.com, Organic Valley, Panera, PNC, Subway, The Superior Group and Vaughn Industries.
Corporate or community organizations interested in becoming a partner in this year’s event may contact Matt Piede with Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation at (614) 355-5429. To read more about the Patient Champions’ stories and to support Nationwide Children’s, visit NationwideChildrens.org/marathon-patient-champions
The 37th Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon & ½ Marathon will be held on Sunday, October 16, 2016 and will have a capacity of 6,000 full marathoners and 12,000 participants in the ½ Marathon. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon is the 17th largest marathon in the United States and one of the top marathons to qualify runners for the Boston Marathon. For more information, visit www.columbusmarathon.com.
The 2016 Patient Champions:
• Jessica Acton, 15, Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis, Dola, OH 45835
• Laila Albanese, 4, Astrocytoma of Spinal Cord, Chillicothe, OH 45601
• Joel Buyer, 8, Cerebral Palsy, Washington Court House, OH 43160
• Jacob Carlino, 18, Ewing’s Sarcoma, Powell, OH 43065
• Tristen Cooper, 9, Multiple Diagnoses, Marietta, OH 45750
• Mason Dum, 15, Type 1 Diabetes, Stoutsville, OH 43154
• Evan Durant, 6, Double Outlet Right Ventricle with Transposition of the Great Arteries, Zanesville, OH 43701
• Gracelynn Dutton, 3, Spina Bifida, Delaware, OH 43015
• Layla Graham, 6, Batten’s Disease, Columbus, OH 43212
• Benjamin Harberts, 4, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Pataskala, OH 43062
• Lyla Horsley, 9, Asthma, Portsmouth, OH 45662
• Jude Hummer, 10, Addison’s Disease, ALD, Columbus, OH 43214
• Millie Johnson, 5, Arthrogryposis, Distal Type I, Upper Arlington, OH 43220
• Grant Loechler, 4, 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, Columbus, OH 43221
• Killian Madrid, 6, Severe Prematurity, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
• Breanna McGrady, 14, Crohns induced Pseudotumor Myositis, Clyde, OH 43410
• Riley Muller, 11, Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II (MPS II), Marysville, OH 43040
• Arjun Satyapriya, 5, Progressive Sensorineuronal Hearing Loss, Powell, OH 43065
• Alex Steckman, 21, Aortic Stenosis, and Coarctation of the Aorta, Westerville, OH 43081
• Alyssa Turner, 19, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Westerville, OH 43801
• Aaron Welch, 9, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy, Chillicothe, OH 45601
• Melanie Wheeler, 13, Myxopapillary Ependymoma, Galion, OH 44833
• Ella Wintringer, 8, Colonic Neuropathy, Orchard Park, N.Y. 14127
• Louis Wood, Traumatic Brain Injury, 16 Granville, OH 43023