Thaindian News

By Meena Kar
Oct 18, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Most of the streets were blocked in Columbus on October 17, because of the nationwide annual Marathon called the annual Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon. The event started at 7:30 in the morning from the intersection of Broad and Third Streets.

This year Columbus Marathon saw the participation of more than 15000 people, who ran and some of who raced in the wheel chairs. This marathon is known as the nation’s one of the top chair racing marathon, as it invites a number of disabled people to participate in the event. According to reports, this year more than 4,103 people went the full 26.2 miles stretch.

After the event, the result was declared, where the top male finisher this year was Jason Ordway from Bellbrook, Ohio, who finished the race in 2:18:08. The female winner of the marathon was Elena Kaledina who finished it in 2:44:20. Chad Johnson of Charlestown, won the wheelchair race in 1:49:17, followed by Jeff Fisher with 1:49:24. Jason Ordway had several reasons to be overwhelmed after his victory in the marathon. This is because, he won a grand price money of $2500, and now he is also qualified for the trial of U.S. Olympic 2012. He was also happy because he could live up to the standard of his brother Josh Ordway, who was the winner of the Columbus Marathon in 2008. Jason Ordway, 22, had slight injury during the course of the race. But he said that this was the sweetest injury ever, as it finally led to his victory.

After crossing the final line, the participants gathered in Celebration Village, where they reunited with their friends and family, and got some drinks and refreshment, after a tiring run. There were more then 2000 volunteers who helped in the smooth execution of this year’s Columbus Marathon.