Akron Children’s Hospital nurses CJ and Karah Novince of Wadsworth, Ohio joined 13,000 runners in the annual Akron Marathon this weekend to support both the hospital and the children they work with every day.

This year’s marathon was supported by the Akron Children’s Hospital. The race started the morning of Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 a.m., with all the runners beginning on High Street. They worked their way through Cuyahoga Falls and finished at Canal Park Stadium.

Both CJ and Karah ran the half marathon (13.1 miles) and did not stop to walk once.

“We wanted to be a part of something that represented Akron Children’s Hospital,” said Karah, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Children’s. “The best part was all the people and the adrenaline of race day. The music along the course was pretty awesome too.”  

This year, Akron Children’s brought some of its patients who have overcome an obstacle or illness to observe the marathon. They watched from designated areas called “hero zones” to cheer on the runners.

“Both CJ and I took care of a couple of the children that were represented in this race,” Karah said. “It was fun seeing their faces posted all over the race, [it] makes our job special and worth it.”

But these two dedicated employees aren’t only full-time nurses; they are also parents for their two-year-old daughter, and finding the time to prepare for the run wasn’t easy.

“It was hard with a toddler running around to fit it in,” explained Karah. “We attempted to follow a schedule that we downloaded from online. We both tried to run three to four times a week. Our goal is to run the full marathon next time.”

All donations from the race went to Akron Children’s Hospital.