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Oct 17, 2027
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The Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon is a road marathon through Columbus, Ohio, held on the third Sunday in October, with a half marathon, 5K, 1 mile and kids' run over the same weekend. The first Columbus Marathon was run on 16 November 1980 with about 2,600 runners. It moved to October in 1984, back to November in 1986 and to October again in 2000, and a half marathon was added in 2006. Nationwide Children's Hospital has been the race's charity partner since 2012, and the 2025 race raised a record $1.4 million for the hospital. The marathon and half marathon start at 7:30 a.m. at North Bank Park in downtown Columbus, and the marathon finishes there. Past courses have taken in Bexley, German Village, the Short North, the Ohio State University campus and Victorian Village, and the 2026 course was revised to be safer and to highlight changes along Parsons Avenue. The course limit for the marathon is 6 hours 30 minutes. More than 15,000 runners took part in 2026, when Nick Doud won in 2:15:08 and Ashton Swinford in 2:38:04. The men's course record of 2:11:02 was set by Tommy Persson of Sweden in 1980.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
In mid-October Columbus averages a daytime high of about 19°C and a low of about 7°C, with measurable precipitation on roughly ten days of the month; the race starts at 7:30 a.m.
The Race
Columbus
Race chairman Greg Lashutka announced on 25 February 1980 that the first Columbus Bank One Marathon would be held that autumn, limited to 2,000 runners, and said the city wanted to make it 'the' Ohio marathon. About 2,600 runners ran on the chilly morning of 16 November 1980, when the temperature at the start was 41 degrees. Sweden's Tommy Persson won in 2:11:02, a course record that still stands.
Organisers moved the race to October in 1984, mainly to be near Columbus Day. Two years later, after too-warm weather, they returned it to November. In 2000 the race moved back to October because November can be too cold, and it has been run in October ever since.
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02:11:02
Tommy Persson (1980)
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