Saturday’s Mill Race Marathon was much different from previous marathons.
This is the first year in the history of the race where competitors faced rainy conditions, with some wind. Remnants of Hurricane Helene brought significant and much needed rain to the Ohio Valley Friday and Saturday after battering the Gulf Coast of Florida and the southeastern part of the country Thursday night as a hurricane.
High winds arrived in the city in the evening hours on Friday that downed some trees and limbs, leading to the cancellation of the Marathon Fun Run for kids.
But with the worst of the storm out of the way Saturday morning, the Mill Race Marathon had the green light.
Even though the sun didn’t shine on the streets, Saturday’s weather temperature-wise was in the mid-60s during the race, which was ideal for distance running — heat and humidity didn’t play a big factor. With the rain pouring down on the runners, it likely felt cooler for them.
With those weather conditions, the medical tents were mostly quiet and heat-related problems were essentially a non-factor.
“As long as there were no storms, the wind wasn’t an issue. The rain isn’t an issue for the runners, so we’ll keep going,” said race director Randy Stafford. “The race went really well. I heard from a number of people saying they ran personal-best times. It’s cool enough and the rain keeps them from overheating.”
In the 12th installment of Columbus’ signature athletic event, runners also had the opportunity to see the city’s amazing architecture, downtown Columbus and picturesque neighborhood streets in cool and rainy weather conditions as family and friends cheered them on at the starting line.
This is the third year for the marathon to be back under normal conditions. The entire Mill Race Marathon was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the 5K and the half marathon were still contested, but the full marathon was canceled due to not having enough volunteers. The inaugural Mill Race Marathon was first run in 2013.
To help with traffic flow of cars and runners combined, runners minimized interaction with busy city streets, but the race still went over the Stewart bridge and near other well-known landmarks around the city.
Caleb Kerr was the men’s marathon winner in 2:30:49 and Polina Hodnette was the women’s marathon winner in 2:58:26.
The rain didn’t hinder any of the top runners, but wet pavement was somewhat of an issue.
“Honestly, I was glad for the rain because it’s pretty warm for a marathon. Anything over about 50-degrees is warm. For a race that long, you want it to be cold. The rain was enough to keep it bearable,” Kerr said. “The only thing that was a bother was that the streets were real slick the whole way through.”
A total of approximately 2,352 runners combined in the full marathon, half marathon and 5K. There was 117 runners who completed the marathon, 1,082 for the half marathon and 1,153 completed the 5K run and walk.
“I thought there were actually more at the start. I know we had more registrations than we had last year. Even though the registrations slowed down the last three days where normally they tick up,” Stafford said. “People were seeing the storm and uncertain, so I don’t know if the people that didn’t register Wednesday or Thursday all came in and did it this morning.”
One of the more unique runners in the full marathon race was Mike Cole from Zionsville. He attempted a new Guinness World Record for the quickest time carrying an entire pizza in a pizza box during the entire 26.2 miles.
Cole said he submitted an entry to Guinness World Record Book. He mentioned there had to be a few signed witnesses and pictures taken at every mile mark to submit and make it official. His time was 3:14:04, shattering the old record Cole says is about four hours.
Cole says he is doing a marathon in each month this year. Will he try for other world records in future marathons?
“I haven’t thought about it. I want to get through this 12-month, 12-marathon thing and see where we’re at,” Cole said.
The course remained the same as the previous year. The marathon and half-marathon were identical for the first 12 miles, except for the final mile where the half-marathon runners turned on Washington Street for the finish line. During miles 13 through 16, marathon runners ran a loop through Noblitt and Mill Race Parks. The remaining majority of the last 10 miles of the full marathon race followed the People Trail along Haw Creek.
“Since the heavier rain quit (Friday night), then any of the big puddles that were in the streets were pretty clear,” Stafford said. “Little puddles that are half-inch deep, the runners don’t care. They would go right over them or right through them.”
Stafford was pleased that the marathon proceeded smoothly without any weather disruptions.
“It is the first year we had to deal with rain, and so, it’s how you plan for it and how we execute,” Stafford said. “We’ll spend the next week drying everything out.”
For a complete roundup of the winners and their finish times, with more race coverage, visit therepublic.com.
For a complete roundup of all of the finishers in the race, visit millracemarathon.com.
By the numbers:
- 117 completed the marathon
- 1,082 completed the half-marathon
- 1,153 completed the 5K
