TOLEDO, Ohio — The Glass City Marathon is well known for being one of the fastest marathons in the country.
That makes it an ideal race for some people to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
For local runner Ben Pushka however the race offers a different challenge.
Pushka has made it his goal to run 12 marathons over the course of 12 months.
And this one, his hometown marathon, was marathon number 12.
In each race he has run he has raised money for a different organization.
For the Glass City Marathon, he chose one close to his heart – Diabetes Youth Services.
The locally-based non-profit organization provides education and supportive services for young people with type 1 diabetes.
"My dad passed away from Diabetes. So this one is a little emotional because of it, but I wanted to finish one for him,” said Pushka.
For each of the 314-odd miles Pushka has run in his marathon journey, he has raised money for a different non-profit, many based right in the Toledo area: the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Toledo Grows, Ronald McDonald House.
Pushka says he has raised from a few hundred dollars to a thousand dollars for each organization.
"I ask people to donate $26.20, essentially a dollar a mile kind of gift,” said Pushka. “I just push it out [on social media] and friends and family share it.”
Pushka is not a novice runner. He says he started the 12 in 12 challenge in 2020 as a way to challenge himself. But the world had other plans.
“This is my second attempt at this feat so I’m very excited,” said Puska, happy that his last marathon is so close to home.
Pushka is not an elite runner. His best time is 3 hours and 39 minutes. But anyone who has ever run a marathon can testify that just completing one is a major accomplishment. Anyway, he says his time in this race doesn’t really matter.
“This time I’m just going for the experience. If I get under 4 hours, great. That’s always one of the goals – to get under 4 hours. If I’m feeling good I’ll shoot for a PR,” said Pushka.
The Glass City Marathon saw close to 1200 runners and para athletes participate in the race and thousands of other participate in the weekend’s other events.
If you are wondering, Pushka finished the race in just under 3 hours and 44 minutes.
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