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Central Illinois Gazette

C-U on the Move

Posted by: Tom Kacich

Sunday, June 1, 2008 8:36 PM

Just ignore that long-range weather forecast calling for isolated thunderstorms next Saturday morning (June 7) when we kick off our 7.61-mile C-U on the Move walk; it's going to be a beautiful morning!

It's just going to take a little longer to walk than I had expected.

I did a "test walk" yesterday morning and, instead of doing my usual mile in 15 minutes, I found that this route is going to take longer. It took me 2 hours and 2 minutes. All those traffic signals and all that traffic through central Champaign slowed me down.

Still, it was a fun route.

WATER. Here's where there will be water: at the Champaign County Courthouse (where the walk will begin promptly at 8 a.m.), at the Illini Union, at West Side Park, at Eisner Park, at Scott Park and at any number of coffee houses, restaurants and convenience stores along the way.

RESTROOMS. There are restrooms at the Illini Union, at the Champaign Public Library, at Eisner Park and at the Illinois Terminal Building.

BUS RIDES. For those who cannot or do not want to complete the entire walk, you can catch a Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District bus back to downtown Urbana either at Eisner Park or at the Illinois Terminal building.

Even if it is warm Saturday, we'll have lots of relief from the sun, particularly for the middle three miles of the walk in Champaign. Those nice big trees along Church Street and University Avenue will provide a lot of shade.

That area also provides a neat look at some great historical homes, including the homes of a couple Champaign mayors, of some bankers, merchants and industrialists and of perhaps the most acclaimed Champaign resident ever -- Sen. William McKinley -- the only Champaign resident ever elected to the U.S. Senate representing Illinois.

McKinley's home is still a breathtaking structure at a highly visible corner in west Champaign. Come Saturday morning and see where it is.

C-U on the Move is a fun walk and a fundraiser for the clock and bell tower at the Champaign County Courthouse. We're asking that everyone who walks contributes $5 to the clock tower project. That gets you a printed walking guide to the walk, a bottle of water and a free ticket to an upcoming Danville Dans game.

C-U there.