Mile Champions
Meet Our 2026 Mile Champions
24 patients treated at Nationwide Children’s Hospital are selected to line each mile of the race, share their story and inspire others. Each Marathon Mile Champion picks a theme for their mile and is celebrated for their strength and bravery. There is also one Remembrance Mile to honor those who are no longer with us and one Encore Mile where we recognize every patient who has lined the course in the past. Together, they represent the more than 1.9 million patient visits to our hospital every year.
Meet the 2026 Mile Champions below.
MEET KENADEE
Hometown: Vincent, OH
Age on Race Day: 10
Diagnosis: Wilm’s Tumor
MEET NORA
Hometown: Hilliard, OH
Age on Race Day: 10
Diagnosis: Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum, Colpocephaly, and Microcephaly
MEET DON
Hometown: Zanesville, OH
Age on Race Day: 7
Diagnosis: Spastic Quad Cerebral Palsy and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Type 4
MEET FINN
Hometown: Springfield, OH
Age on Race Day: 9
Diagnosis: Gene deletion, Adrenal Insufficiency, and Hypothyroidism
MEET BRAYLEE
Hometown: Pataskala, OH
Age on Race Day: 14
Diagnosis: Malignant Mixed Germ Cell Ovarian Tumor
MEET LUCA
Hometown: Canal Winchester, OH
Age on Race Day: 8
Diagnosis: Sensorineural Hearing Loss
MEET PARKER
Hometown: Pataskala, OH
Age on Race Day: 11
Diagnosis: Craniopharyngioma
MEET QUENTIN
Hometown: Blacklick, OH
Age on Race Day: 9
Diagnosis: Burkitt Leukemia
MEET KADEN
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Age on Race Day: 9
Diagnosis: SC Sickle Cell, Cystic Fibrosis, and Pancreatic Insufficiency
MEET MARINN
Hometown: Marion, OH
Age on Race Day: 19
Diagnosis: Complete ACL Ruptures x3
MEET ZOE
Hometown: Kettering, OH
Age on Race Day: 7
Diagnosis: Pediatric Feeding Disorder
MEET WINNIE
Hometown: Morgantown, WV
Age on Race Day: 11
Diagnosis: SMA Type II
MEET NOAH
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Age on Race Day: 13
Diagnosis: Congenital Heart Disease
MEET MADDIE
Hometown: Munroe falls, OH
Age on Race Day: 9
Diagnosis: Spina Bifida, Hydrocephalus, VACTERL, and Hearing Loss
MEET SAVANNAH JO
Hometown: Bluffton, OH
Age on Race Day: 12
Diagnosis: Prematurity
MEET NATALIE
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Age on Race Day: 8
Diagnosis: Cerebral palsy, Stage 4 Kidney Disease, and Hearing Loss
