Do you want to run in one of the events at the Illinois Marathon this spring?

If you’re not yet entered, you might want to think about doing so soon — especially if you want to get into the half-marathon or marathon relay.

The half-marathon is 84 percent full, and the marathon relay is 78 percent full. Those two races will fill sometime in March, said the race’s co-director, Jan Seeley.

More than 9,100 people are entered in the event’s five races, as of Tuesday afternoon. The runners come from 44 states, the District of Columbia, and five countries other than the U.S.

If you know a runner from Delaware, Hawaii, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota or Wyoming, urge them to sign up.

The number of runners registered as of Tuesday afternoon in each event are:

— 1,877 in the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon. The limit is 3,000 runners.

— 5,050 in the Christie Clinic Half-Marathon. The limit is 6,000 runners.

— 235 teams in the Illinois Alumni Association Marathon Relay. The limit is 300 teams.

— 1,200 in the Provena Illinois 5K. The limit is 5,000 runners.

— 102 in the Busey Illinois Youth Run. The limit is 2,000 runners, age 10 and under.

Seeley said the biggest weeks for registration this year — usually a week or two prior to the race entry fee going up — have seen far more registrations than the biggest weeks last year.

And last week, which would be considered a “slow” week with no price increase deadline looming, saw 563 runners enter one of the races.

“Every week I get excited to see I have more (entrants) than the week before,” Seeley said.

The Illinois Marathon races will be held May 1. For more information or to register, go to the race’s Web site at www.illinoismarathon.com.
 

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