Even before the sun had risen, Sandeep Rustagi was standing among thousands of fellow travelers early on Sunday morning, stretching and jogging to keep warm in the cool autumn air.
The Long Street starting position near North Bank Park was a place Rustagi first encountered in 2019 while running the half-marathon distance of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon. But this year, at the age of 54, Rustagi decided to do something he had never done before and run the full marathon.
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It wasn’t just the result of an impulse to challenge yourself physically and mentally, when that would have been enough. Rather, Rustagi was motivated by an apt personal reason.
On July 25th, Rustagi and his wife Sonika Rustagi, 50, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. When he enters his 26th year of marriage with his wife, Rustagi has set himself the goal of completing all 42.2 miles of the marathon appropriately.
“This long marriage shows an obligation to one person,” said Rustagi, who lives with Sonica in Powell. “What could be nicer than celebrating than working for a goal like a marathon?”
Sunday also marked a special date for Rustagi, whose mother would have turned 75 on October 17th. Although she died two years ago, Rustagi viewed the race as his homage to his mother and a celebration of her life.
Rustagi was one of approximately 8,000 runners to compete in the first Columbus Marathon in two years after the event was canceled last year over COVID-19 concerns.
“Here it is, the moment you’ve been waiting for,” an announcer said around 7:30 am to the crowd on Long Street, awaiting the start of the 41st Columbus Marathon.
Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” boomed and fireworks exploded in the sky as runners ages 12 to 91 entered the course, which started and finished in North Bank Park near the Scioto River. It was estimated that thousands of cheering onlookers lined the course, which meandered through the downtown streets and nearby suburban neighborhoods.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still largely due to the spread of the Delta variant of the virus among unvaccinated people, organizers have taken additional precautions this year to keep people safe. Runners have had to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the last 72 hours, said Darris Blackford, who has been a race director for 12 years.
“I couldn’t be more excited; I love it every year anyway, ”said Blackford. “But it’s a muffled sense of excitement because we don’t want to deny that it’s been a tough year and a half for everyone.”
In 2019 around 13,000 runners crossed the finish line of the Columbus Marathon. Organizers haven’t lowered the cap for this year’s entrants, but Blackford said fewer runners would likely have signed up because many popular spring races were postponed to October – including the Cincinnati and Cleveland marathons.
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All in all, this year’s event helped raise $ 600,000, and that counts for Nationwide Children’s Hospital as well.
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Rustagi was one of the second wave of runners who crossed the starting line at around 7:40 a.m. At around the 22nd mile, his 22-year-old son Sachit Rustagi presented him with a sign that read “26.2 miles to celebrate the 26th held up in front of the cheering family and friends as he crossed the finish line at 1:19 pm
The sign came as a surprise to Sonika, who knew her husband was running the marathon but didn’t know that she was his motivation.
“I was so proud of him,” said Sonika afterwards. “I have no words for it; that was really amazing.”
Rustagi and Sonika met 26 years ago in their hometown of Delhi, India’s capital area, and got married within a month.
Rustagi was doing a PhD in business administration from Pittsburgh University at the time, so the newlyweds moved to the United States to live in Pittsburgh. Rustagi, who works for a global technology consultancy, said his work has enabled the couple to travel and live across the country, including Dallas, Texas; Richmond, Virginia; and Boston.
In addition to Sachit, the couple also have a 20-year-old daughter Sonam Rustagi. Their two children are studying at Ohio State University.
Rustagi only started running two years ago when his friend introduced him to a local running group. In 2019 he ran the half marathon of the Columbus Marathon, which in his opinion was a good introduction to long-distance competition.
He said he had been training for the marathon for the past few months, running a mix of longer and shorter distances most days of the week. However, it wasn’t about maintaining a certain pace or finishing at a certain time.
“I know for sure that a lot of people will run faster than me, and I’m fine with that,” said Rustagi before the race.
The preparation allowed Rustagi to finish the marathon in 5:48:23. Even when the race became demanding, he was spurred on by his urge to surprise his wife with a loving message.
“It was more difficult than I expected,” said Rustagi as he greeted his family. “But she was definitely the inspiration.”
Eric Lagatta is a reporter for the Columbus Public Safety, Breaking News, and Social Justice Dispatch. Reach him at elagatta@dispatch.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLagatta
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