Illinois Marathon

I want to thank Jan Seely & her thousands of volunteers & sponsors for a wonderful marathon. I know that she didn't do it by herself & many people were involved. She goes above and beyond to have a wonderful marathon. The town of Champaign & Urban & surrounding area can be very thankful for Jan for putting on an a-1 marathon. I should know because I have ran 131 of them. You are not going to find a better marathon anywhere. I want to thank my new friend Ed on the incumbent bike & he was with me at around mile 17 or before. I also want to thank the lady on the bike & the woman who was in the van & later walked with me. The best moment of the day was when I entered the stadium & the crowd cheered me on & at the finish line was Jan Seely. Here was this woman been up at 3:00 am or 4:00 am but was standing there to put the medal around my neck. It still brings tears to my eyes. A job well done. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

It was nice for a University of Illinois Class of 1981 graduate to return to the alma mater for the Illinois Marathon even though I just walked the half with both finishes in Memorial Stadium that will celebrate its 100th this year. The course is a good showcase of the University of Illinois campus & central IL.

This review will be divided into two sections...the Marathon Course itself and the Illinois Marathon Weekend. Marathon - I know many people say this race was flat, but honestly I have ran flatter courses (Chicagoland in Schaumburg and Run4Troops in Dubuque). The half marathon is definitely flat, but once you split up from the half marathoners there were a few tiny hills, but Mile 25 next to the golf course was a little brutal and I lost some time on that hill. Overall the first half of the marathon was very entertaining. I actually do think there were more musical acts then the Rock 'n Roll Marathon itself. You are running mostly through Urbana and the scene switches off consistently from town centers to residential to park trails. Hats off to the Navy ROTC which was ringing some bell at Mile 12. However, the 2nd half of the marathon was just residential and for people that need entertainment at their races then this was going to be brutal for you. You are mostly running through residencial neighborhoods. However, hats off to those people that live in those homes. A LOT of them came out and supported us. They were giving away Coors Light and other beers to the participants. If you are a weak hill runner like myself then be careful and be prepared for Mile 25. I was suprised by it and it slowed me down by at least 2 minutes. From there on...you can have a kick and finish fast all the way to the finish line if you still have it in you. Marathon Weekend : They also have the 10k, Marathon Relay, and the Half Marathon that Saturday. However, they do have a 5k on Friday night. That is pretty convenient if you have a child. My wife was able to do the 5k on Friday night while I was with my daughter. The expo seems like it was very legit. Many high profile speakers came and they had cool games and such. There was a lot of confusion on where to meet up with family members at the end. They need signs to tell us where to meet up with them. I couldn't find my wife after her 5k and we wasted like 20 minutes looking for each other. The 4 Mile Celebration and 27 Mile Celebration was cramped. I honestly think they should do it at the HUGE parking lot next to the street. Speaking of parking lots, there was PLENTY and FREE parking. Hotels will start spiking up their hotel rates by at least 30 to 40 dollars in one month so make sure you go on Priceline to book several months in advance. We stayed at Candlewood Suites for 70.00 and it was well worth it. It was clean, modern, and had a BIG fridge. Also....if you want to Carb up and if you need to be on a budget like myself (I come from a poor immigrant family)....there is a FAZOLIES in town!!! For 7 dollars you can get a good spaghetti meal. Finally...they will give you wooden chips at the expo to use around town. We did took advantage of it. We also realized that the list they gave us of businesses didn't have all them so if you go to places on Green Street and the surrounding area...ask if they take the wooden chips. We got a few great deals out of them. Champaign has several nice parks, museums (I am a history dork), and U of I is a beautiful campus. I would recommend a weekend trip here for sure. Everything is very economical (even gas so make sure you fill up before you head back to the Chicago area). Just make sure you book your hotel on Priceline once you realize you will do this race. You will save at least 30 to 40 dollars. That is at least 8 Subway Meals.