Have run Boston Marathon twice and qualified again at Illinois Marathon. Course is nice: flat, residential, and amazing crowd support. The whole community seems to be very proud and enthusiastic supporters of this race. The weather was perfect for running: around 50 degrees and partly cloudy skies mostly.
My only complaint would be the finishing food could be a little more imaginative than pizza and pasta.

Champaign puts on a nice event- flat course, plenty of turns. Everything starts and finishes at the area around the football stadium and the volunteers do a fine job. Important to get lodging early as everything was booked several months in advance and I had to stay 25 minutes from town.

This race had great volunteers! Marathon started on time and has the best finish (50 yard line of Memorial Stadium). Course wasn't too crowded. Brooks shirts were nice as well as the string bags - much better than the plastic bags from some other races. Good value considering the price compared with bigger races. Less fan support this year due to the damp, cool and windy weather - nice for runners, not so great for fans.

Wonderful race! I ran the half last year and returned this year to race the full. Mike Almquist and the race director do a great job of organizing the race and providing good Elite support. I loved the course (even the slight elevation change between miles 24-25), and was able to enjoy the experience even more than last year. Twice the distance, twice the fun! We were blessed with a break in the weather and I was able to pull out a PR! Thanks to all who helped and I hope to C-U at the finish in years to come!

Packet pick up was quick and easy, and parking was readily available for both the race and the expo. The t-shirts are nice, I think you can see the women's from the moon, but I like having something I can feel safe running in at night. I liked the course, especially the run through the park. However, at the end, some of the residential curves probably added on a bit of distance if you weren't running the tangents perfectly. I think I got a little residential viewed out by the end, but I'm not sure what else they could do with it to add more variety. The only thing I can really complain about is that the mylars were all gone, and this was one of the few races where it was chilly enough that I was really looking forward to one. The volunteers and spectators were awesome! Water stops were plentiful, everyone was so positive and helpful, and I don't think I've ever heard 'looking strong' or 'you've got this' so many times in one race. I think it is a nice course, well organized, and a fun time!

I was really impressed by all the spectator support (especially in the first half of the marathon). Tons of funny signs, music, and cheering. The community really supports the event.
This was my favorite race so far. Well-organized and lots of fun.
The only negative is that with a stadium finish, your friends and family can't be close enough to get a good picture of you (regulated to the stands).

I would definitely recommend this race!

Ten stars for the stadium finish!!!

After asking two different people how to get to the food AND to the reunion area (neither of whom could help me) I figured it out for myself. They weren't rude, just had no clue how to answer my question. One of the volunteers even said that the reunion area wasn't set up alphabetically, when it clearly was! Also, there were some rude Urbana citizens along the route. Organizers need to be better about keeping frat boys from harassing runners verbally.

Just completed the 2012 race and have nothing but positive comments about this marathon. This is absolutely a beginner friendly course and the volunteers/spectators were fantastic. Water stops were frequent and very organized with large signs telling you which table had water and which Gatorade. As a back of the pack marathoner I never felt alone as there was almost always someone within eyesight shouting encouragements and keeping traffic organized.

Race expo is a little small and the t-shirt a bit bland, but lets face it we run this for the race NOT for fashionable outfits. This is definitely a top notch affair and I highly encourage anyone looking for an Illinois marathon to consider this gem. Thank you, thank you to the race organization for I had a great time. Bonus - I think Champaign Urbana might have some of THE nicest people around and the marathon medals this year were very cool!!

The Illinois Marathon is a very well organized event. The course is relatively flat with only gentle upgrades. You finish on the fifty yard line of the Fighting Illini football field which is very cool. As you enter the stadium you see the field, you on the jumbo tron and lots of people sitting in the stands. Very fun indeed. Only comment for improvement is they need more porta potties on the course. Much of the course is in-town, residential areas or open farm fields so it doesn't lend itself to woods diving for private time. Those porta potties on the course had five to ten people waiting to use them so it just kills your time when you have to wait that long. Other than that this is one terrific event. I'll be back for sure.