Tyler Nichols completed all 13.1 miles in the hallways of Riley Hospital for Children, with his doctors and nurses cheered every step of the way.
INDIANAPOLIS — A teenager battling cancer in Indiana completed a marathon inside the hospital he’s being treated in. Tyler Nichols is now hoping his journey will inspire others.
The race course was perfect for the 14-year-old, who has run everything from cross-country to track.
Speed is Nichols’ thing. That’s why his body suddenly slowing down last summer felt so wrong.
First, he lagged behind unexpectedly on hikes during a trip out west. Then, he couldn’t get up to speed on the track back home.
His whole family got a gut punch when doctors referred him to the Riley Hospital for Children and learned a tough diagnosis.
“They ran blood tests and everything and long story short, I have leukemia,” Nichols said.
But the eighth grader is positive and prayerful even through chemo. Treatment is a marathon not a sprint — and he’s up for the challenge.
“Once I’m set on something,” he said. “I’m not going to stop until it’s over.”
When Tyler couldn’t run the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis because of his diagnosis, he found a detour.
It prompted him to walk 13.1 miles in the walls of the children’s hospital to complete his own Mini-Marathon.
His big brother suggested it after seeing Nichols walk five, then seven miles helping his body clear chemo after sessions.
“The next treatment, his brother was like, ‘Tyler, it’ll be the week of the Mini. You should just do a Mini-Marathon,'” his mom, Emily, said, “Tyler said, ‘OK!'”
He walked the whole thing over two days in the oncology unit.
“I had a whole IV pole with me full of fluids and a little bit of chemo. Just going in circles for 210 laps,” Nichols said. “It’s just seeing the same four walls, every time, every lap.”
“When we’d periodically pop in his room, he had his tennis shoes on, he was ready to go,” said a member of Tyler’s Riley care team, Pediatric Hematology & Oncology fellow, Dr. Tina Ebenroth. “He did ask if he could run near the end and we said, ‘Well, how about a fast walk?'”
“I pushed his little IV pole for him. I swear it was on two wheels going around each corner,” his mom said. “He planned it out and we tallied it out on a dry erase on the door to keep track of everything and he did it.”
Tyler’s race inspired other kids in the hospital to walk the halls, too. The hospital is now considering a way to let more patients participate in the mini next year.
Doctors say movement can help heal, boosting physical and mental well-being.
“My doctors were there to cheer me on and it was a mental battle almost, just trying to get it done,” Nichols said. “If anyone’s going through something like I am, just try to keep a positive mindset.”
Even though he couldn’t participate in the official Mini-Marathon, organizers sent Nichols a swag bag and finishers’ medal.
Tyler plans to run the Mini-Marathon in person next year.
He’s targeting January 2028 to ring the bell at Riley after leukemia. When he does, he plans to run home — literally.
“It’s 14 miles exactly,” he said.
