COLUMBUS – A Sunbury man running in his first marathon crossed the finish line ahead of a field of some 12,000 participants to win the 2023 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon.
Zach Kreft finished the course in 2:18:07, narrowly missing the U.S. Olympic Trial Qualifying standard of 2:18:00.
Damaris Areba, of Kenya, won the women’s division with a time of 2:34:38. Second-place finisher Shannon Smith, of Flagstaff, Ariz., qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials with a time of 2:36:43.
Christina Murphy, of Columbus, finished third with a time of 2:42:00.
James Ngandu, of Kenya, won his fifth straight Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus ½ Marathon with a time of 1:03:27. Sarah Naibei, of Kenya, was the top female finisher.
The more than 12,000 came from 47 states, the District of Columbus and 13 countries.
This year’s race raised at least $1 million for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, bringing the total amount raised for the hospital, since the partnership started in 2012 to approximately $13 million.