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Central Illinois Gazette

Sign up for The Illinois Marathon in Champaign-Urbana

Posted by: Tom Kacich

Monday, June 23, 2008 8:13 PM

Here's the Web site http://www.illinoismarathon.com/index.html for the first-ever Illinois Marathon, to be held Saturday, April 11, 2009 (the day before Easter) in Champaign-Urbana.

Register now and you can run the whole 26.2 miles for $65. Prices increase after Nov. 30.

It's a delightfully flat course (an 85-foot elevation change throughout) and it ought to be pretty fast. There are a lot of straightaways, which makes it even faster.

I'm having trouble studying the map in too much detail but I did note that it includes Meadowbrook Park, it comes within a half-block of our house, down Green Street and through Campustown, in front of The News-Gazette, past West Side Park and a bunch of other Champaign parks and by way of Lincolnshire Fields and the Champaign Country Clubs, past Hessel Park and finishes in magnificent Memorial Stadium.

Now you have almost a full year to pray for good weather -- no rain or snow, no wind (good luck with that in April around here) and no major road work in C-U.

UPDATE: I just checked the weather statistics. This year on April 11 the high was 63 and the low was 43 -- pretty good. But we had 1.3 inches of rain.

The average high for the day is 60. The low is 39. That's pretty good weather for running.

Time to start training for the marathon. Ten months gives you plenty of time to get in shape!