On October 21st, 2018 I volunteered at the Nationwide Children’s Columbus Marathon with my fellow Dunn Scholars. The raced began at 7am and ended at 1pm. We started the day by stacking layers of cups, both of water and Gatorade for the runners as they passed our stop at their 17th mile. Once the race began, we lined either side of the street with cups held out for the runners to grab as they continued their run. The morning was absolutely freezing and wet from the night before, but that did not stop the runners. To see not only the turn out of people who came to support the runners, but also the number of runners there were running the whole marathon. Cheering each person on by name and watching them smile and push through just made the experience all the better.
This experience showed me the overwhelming number of people who will come to support the cause. Nationwide Children’s cares for hundreds of thousands of children and these runners were there to support and care for the children as well as the hospital in charge of those children. For me, this experience showed me a true life experience of a community working together for a common purpose. Because of service learning, I am grateful to be a part of the Columbus community.