Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Announce 2022 Patient Champions

July 13, 2022

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is pleased to announce the 2022 “Patient Champions” who will represent 24 of the 26 miles on the course. The other two miles, the Encore Mile, will honor former Marathon Patient Champions, and the Angel Mile, will celebrate the lives of those who are no longer with us.

A committee of hospital staff selected the Marathon Patient Champions after a thoughtful review of inspiring patient applications submitted by individual families or nominated by Nationwide Children’s staff members. The Patient Champions, current or former patients of Nationwide Children’s, were chosen based on various criteria, including diversity of diagnosis, age and enthusiasm to cheer on race participants at their mile. A full list of the Patient Champions is below. To learn more about the Patient Champion program, please contact Nimrah.Clark@NationwideChildrens.org.

To help fund the lifesaving research and care taking place at Nationwide Children’s, full Marathon and 1/2 Marathon participants are encouraged to fundraise as “Children’s Champions.” Since 2012, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon & 1/2 Marathon has raised over $10 million for life saving care and research.

Corporate or community organizations interested in becoming a partner in 2022 may contact Cindy Laux with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation at (614) 355-5413 or Cynthia.Laux@NationwideChildrens.org. To read more about the Marathon Patient Champions and to support Nationwide Children’s, please click here.

The 42nd Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is Sunday, October 16th at 7:30 a.m. starting at North Bank Park and will wind through several central Ohio neighborhoods. It is one of the Top 20 largest marathons in the country and often called the “Most Meaningful Marathon” due to the inclusion of the Patient Champions. For more information, visit ColumbusMarathon.com.                                              

The 2022 Patient Champions: 

  • Abigail B., 6, Tetralogy of Fallot, Grove City, OH
  • Ahleonah-Lou D., 11, Tracheomalacia, asthma, Columbus, OH
  • Annika K., 7, Double lung transplant, gastric dysmotility, chronic kidney disease, Jefferson, OH
  • Atreyu R., 10, Medulloblastoma, Green Camp, OH
  • Auron S., 9, Coffin-Siris syndrome, Hilliard, OH
  • Bowden E., 6, Articulation disorder, Newark, OH
  • Cadence M., 10, Allergic rhinitis, eczema, Powell, OH
  • Cameron D., 8, Brain lesion, Westerville, OH
  • Cameron O., 13, Pineal gland cyst, Lewis Center, OH
  • Cayden J., 7, Congenital diaphragmatic hernia, pulmonary hypertension, Morral, OH
  • Connor L., 7, Infantile scoliosis reflux, autism, Dublin, OH
  • Cortney B., 23, Spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, neuromuscular scoliosis, Flushing, OH
  • Emma K., 11, Hirschsprung’s disease, Louisville, KY
  • Ethan S., 6, Scleroderma, Bexley, OH
  • Evelyn B., 8, Sotos syndrome, Dublin, OH
  • Giada H., 8, Encephalitis, Van Wert, OH
  • Jenna S., 21, Congenital disorder of glycosylation, brain tumors, Hilliard, OH
  • Jeremiah H., 5, Bronchopulmonary dysplasia, spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, Anna, OH
  • Jose M., 10, Craniosynostosis, Fredericktown, OH
  • Kai P., 4, Dandy Walker malformation, Columbus, OH
  • Kendrick T., 7, Burn, asthma, expressive language delay, Columbus, OH
  • Landon H., 9, Hip dysplasia, Westerville, OH
  • Landon M., 10, Diabetes, Delaware, OH
  • Ryley V., 16, Heart transplant, Findlay, OH

Note: Age on race day is reflected

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About Nationwide Children's Hospital

Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-25 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 16,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.8 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org