Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon - Race Reviews

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.

This marathon greatly exceeded my expectations for what I was looking for in a marathon. I was looking for a marathon with a flat course and wasn't too crowded in order to run a PR and qualify for the Boston marathon. I was lucky enough to have great weather and run a really nice PR by a little over 5 minutes and easily secure my ticket to Boston. Pros: -Very flat course -Very well organized -Not overly crowded -Great communications by race directors -Easy parking day of right near the start/finish lines -Nice medal/shirt/blanket they give away Cons: -Champaign/Urbana isn't exactly a huge metropolitan area so it doesn't attract a huge fan contingent along the course Really I don't have much other than great things to say about this race. My wife is a U of I alumni and has been talking about running a marathon so I convinced her to sign up for this one for her marathon debut. I would recommend this race for a first timer or someone who has done 30 marathons.

Nice course though scenic residential area of Champaign/Urbana. Nice medal & aid stations.

The biggest factor drawing me to this marathon was that the 50-States Marathon Club had a reunion run here, and I had not been to one of the quarterly reunion runs with the group for about 18 months - and I could drive here - in about 9 hours. For this marathon, the University of Illinois made a huge contribution - as did both communities. Urbana and Champaign are twin cities, side-by-side, with the University nestled in between, with a feel of one big community. The race organization brought both communities together, along with the University, to put on a spectacular event. For all the events they were hosting, they brought some 18,000 runners to town. Since I am focusing on the marathon part of that, there were 1,215 marathon runners - a small fraction of the total group. Hopefully, spreading the word about the excellent experience here will draw more marathoner runners in the future. Up front, plenty of information was available about the race, where to go - addresses, building designations or names, and where to park - for the expo and on race day morning. And from the time you arrived on campus, there were volunteers everywhere to help you - first with parking, then getting to the expo, and of course, where you could park race day morning. For packet pick-up, once inside the building, you were directed to one room where they assigned numbers and handed out bibs. Bibs were personalized with names, or nick-names - and they did it right there. I have never seen anything like this before. Then you progressed to the expo - a big room where you got your T-shirt and bag for s.w.a.g., and all kinds of organizations were represented there. There was a 'marathon store' at one end, but the rest of the room was mostly for folks trying to get information out about their specialty. Most were giving away stuff; some were trying to make a buck. It was a substantial expo. Race day morning the parking lots adjacent to the stadium and the start-line were open and parking was available very close to the center of activity. There was free coffee/tea, and Einstein bagels for pre-race food. The temperature was on the cool side before the sun was up probably in the 40's. So lots of runners were shedding warm-up clothes just before the start. Volunteers took these (then transported them to the post-race area for pick-up). The race started just after 7:00 a.m. with the wheel chair racers first. The runners were corralled by their projected finish time. Every couple of minutes they would release another wave. There were 8 corrals, and if you were in the back (like me), it seemed like 15 minutes before we got to run. I understand the reasons for doing this, but the clocks on the course are like 15 minutes off of chip time for those runners. We started down the main drag thru campus - with helicopters overhead and on live TV - then turned right and went through the town on Urbana, literally through downtown, and area neighborhoods. For the part through Urbana, the ½ marathoners with us. Returning to the campus, the ½ marathoners went left to their finish, and the marathoners turned right and headed through Champaign. Again, we got to see the town - and some very impressive homes. The course wound its way thru town then ended up bringing us into the football stadium, with the finish line out near the 50-yardline. It was spectacular. The only thing missing is that I did not have a football I was running with! These people did not leave anything to chance. There were perhaps 7 first-aid stations spread along the course. There were hydration stations every 2-3 miles, and they all had an abundance of friendly volunteers serving the runners. Some were stocked with gels too. And I think some friendly neighbors just set up their own table and served the runners as they saw fit. One guy was actually serving Moonshine! (Jan warned us!) There were course marshals too, then bikes patrols connected with runners thru the day too. There was usually a volunteer close by. And there were signs throughout the course too, keeping runners informed and on-track. Some of the mile markers were flags on a vertical pole, and they had a tendency to align with the wind, and sometimes you could run past them without even seeing them, if you were not watching closely. In the later part of the race (maybe in Champaign) they used rigid signs for mile-markers, and you could not miss seeing those. Throughout the race, law enforcement did a great job controlling the traffic and keeping the runners safe. I think Urbana closed their roads for the course, but Champaign used half of the road for runners and used the other lane for car traffic. In any case, it worked great, and there were not, to my knowledge, any safety issues. A couple of other comments: The weather forecast was for overcast skies and mid 50's. That is about as good as it can get for a marathon; not too hot, and not too cold. I did not see actuals, bit it felt pretty close to that. It was mostly clear at the start, and as the Sun was about to come out, it got cloudy. And it seemed to stay that way most of the morning. During sun-breaks, there seemed to be plenty of shade. Probably in the early afternoon the Sun did come out in force, but most everyone was finished by then and it never got hot. The wind was variable, but sometimes strong. After crossing the finish line, we received a medal, posed for a photo, got bottles of water and Muscle Milk (I needed Muscle Milk before the race!), then we headed up behind the bleachers and had hot food - pasta and pizza - bananas, granola bars, pretzels, and the like. RD Jan was available to runners before and after the race.

Just finished my 9th Illinois marathon and 400th marathon overall. Very well organized marathon and great weather for the marathon with just a little windy at times, but a dry marathon experience compared to years past. Love the marathon medal which celebrated University of Illinois 150th birthday, and there was even birthday cake out on the plaza to celebrate. Nice touch to get the blanket when you finish the marathon in the football stadium which makes for a great finish. Great race staff from the Directors, to volunteers, medical personnel, and police, etc.. I had a great time pacing the 4:30 group, and thanks to all the runners that ran with me - especially the first time 1/2 and full marathoners. Now I start looking forward to my 10th Illinois marathon next year.

Although the wind absolutely sucked, the course was flat and the spectators were plentiful and enthusiastic. The organization for this race was as good as any I've seen. There was never any question as where to be at any time at both the expo and the race itself.

I have run this every year. Rained ALL day, but the free plastic poncho was perfect. Too much concrete at times. This is a very well organized race.

Yeah, the weather sucked. Besides that, great race! Amazing fans, fast course, great support! I almost never run races more than once, but I will be back to this one. Anyone trying quality for Boston, this is the course!

This was my 44th marathon and it was a good one. Sure it rained and the wind blew a bit, but top-notch organization. Great communication. Nice updated website. Flat and fast course and I'm sure there would have been more people cheering if the weather wasn't so darn nasty. Events for the entire family from youth run to marathon. Nice swag too; medals (very nice medals to include the challenge ones for completing multi events on Fri and Sat), fleece blanket, good shirts. Finish on the 50 yard line of Fighting Illini. Really good event. This staff is great. Keep it up. Looking forward to seeing date of next years race, so I can see if it fits into my schedule. WELL DONE.

For the first time in the 7-year history of the race, we experienced bad weather. I was at mile 19 when police first drove by announcing through the speakers that the race was 'shut down' and to seek shelter. With the current culture's propensity for lawsuits, management made the correct choice. However, my group and I never did see lightning, and it even stopped raining once, so we kept going and finished. Some of the amazing volunteers kept working (including the finish line), and the rest left their water stands set up for self-service. Besides that weather-related negativity, the race was awesome. The chilly weather was actually great for keeping cool during the run. Flat course as always, and the 'hill' at mile 24-25 is negligible. The increase of fruit at water stations was great. Spectators (fewer than most years) and volunteers were wonderful too. Even some of the entertainment improvised, setting up under bridges and awnings to keep playing for us. Definitely a grade-A marathon for first-timers, PR's, or those with a connection to the community.

I've ran the 1/2 marathon a couple times but this was my first at the Illinois full. This year's weather was not great besides the temperature (50 degrees) due to heavy rain & 20mph winds. They actually had to 'cancel' the races at 10:15am which left a number of runners on the course. They still finished on their own (without traffic control because of storms) but still were allowed to finish and get their medals. The course is mostly flat with some rolling inclines/declines and the biggest hill is at 24 when it feels much worse than what it really is. Volunteers were great and every turn was marked off really well with someone there. I've never had a marathon (#7 for me) where every single cop holding traffic gave words of encouragement! You start the race with the 1/2 racers and you split off around 12 miles before running with/past the 10K races (which start 42 min after the full). So it was nice to have a boost of runners around you through 18. After that, you are pretty much on your own as it does spread out then. Overall: fast course, those that are on the course are very supportive and encouraging (hardly anyone did not say something),nice medals and post-race food (pizza, pasta, pretzels, Gatorade, water, bananas...). They also have a convenient medal engraving booth that costs only $12-15 to engrave your medal on the spot in 30-45 minutes. The weather wasn't optimal this year but if you like very encouraging and supportive crowds, greenery, want to run a PR and don't mind running solo a little bit then this is the marathon for you!

Let's start with the obvious. I know a lot will be made of canceling the race at the 4:00 mark. I was on the course at mile 21 when I heard the news. There was rain and thunder, and that alone would not have stopped the race. What I didn't know was the Storm Center based in Lincoln IL had warned the race directors DIRECTLY of a line of severe lightning that was heading straight for the race course. Had they left hundred of volunteers and thousands of runners unprotected against the elements, it may literally have resulted in people dying. No finish is worth that. Kudos to those who made the hard decision to cancel the race rather than risk the lives of the people left on the course. As to the race itself, few races enjoy more community support than the Illinois marathon. The whole town comes out to support this race. Further, every detail is considered. The expo and course literally overflow with signage and volunteers more than eager to help. The blooming trees and emerald green grass contrast dramatically with the well kept houses and make for a very scenic course. The finish on the 50 yard line of the UI campus (as I experienced it during the previous night's 5K) was super cool. A jumbotron projected images of every runner, and even a local TV station devoted hours of coverage to nothing but the marathon. The I-Challenge, which included a 5K Friday night, followed by a 10K, half, or full the next day gave out 3 awesome medals. Definitely a plus for medal chasers like me. The 5K is also VERY cool, and well worth arriving a day earlier to run. Really there is very little negative I have to say about this marathon, and I have run a lot of them. Well worth the couple hours drive from Chicago. Great job Illinois! I'll be back!

This race is run very, very well: seamless packet pickup; organized parking at the expo and race start; and very good course support. Another nice touch is that the finisher medal and race shirt have a matching design. I also like the fleece blanket given at the finish line. Support from the local and university community is outstanding and enthusiastic. This year the marathon was cancelled mid-race due to bad weather. The directors and local law enforcement did a fantastic job of spreading the word and giving instructions to the runners on the course. Locals offered their garages to runners wanting protection from the weather. Props to the local and race officials for making the difficult decision to cancel the race in the name of safety. It was the right choice.

Thank you to all the volunteers and staff for this race who worked tirelessly in some difficult conditions for the race. You are the race heroes!! This is my fourth year to run the half. It's a very well run event and while some will grumble about stopping the race because of a little lightning in the area, it was the right move. You would be the same people grumbling if someone would have gotten struck by lightning. Let's hope for better weather next year and we'll CU-there!

I've run a few other courses, but none of them are as good as this one. Flat and fast is right. I've run the marathon once and the half marathon 3 times. I've made this a staple in my yearly training plan.

This is the 4th time I've run this marathon and I really have come to enjoy it a lot. It's very well organized and a very pleasant course. I'm puzzled by folks who say this course is not 'flat'...I suppose this is a measure of what you've run. The very minor grades on this course are actually a nice variation for the legs...but it's really flat. Further, I found the crowd support and interest over the whole course, second half included, to be terrific. Outside the Chicago Marathon, which is a huge event, this is the best support I've seen in a full marathon and this was #47 for me. The fact the course is in neighborhoods, not commercial/industrial areas, makes all the difference. I found these folks very encouraging and very plentiful. I too ran the Full I Challenge...the 5K on Friday night was a hoot. I've never run a 5K with 7,000 others!! It was fun to take a simple jog the night before a marathon. Hotels are full, indeed...I beat that by just taking my tent. There's a small campground in Mahomet, just 10 minutes from the race site and it worked wonderfully. One other fun fact...on race morning, they had a full 2 hours of radio broadcasts all about running. Hal Higdon was a major guest and it was so cool to drive in and wait in the parking lot listening to solid, well-considered discussion of running...that never happens on the radio but it does in this race!! Mega kudos to the organizers, this is an event that has grown wonderfully...it's been neat to be watch it grow.

This is a well run race with a great finish. My only complaints are: relay runners finishing together getting in the way of marathoners, and concrete running surfaces.

I recommend this race...great option for Illinois. Pros: 1) Great neighborhood support. 2) Great volunteers. 3) Beautiful course. 4) Well staffed and stocked aid stations. 5) Nice medal and shirts were nicer than I expected. 6) Easy, organized packet pickup. 7) Lots of food and muscle milk after the marathon. 8) Plenty of convenient parking for the expo and race. 9) $5.00 gets you into activity center so you can use the pool after the race and shower...I sat in the pool for 20 minutes in lieu of my usual ice bath and it was cool enough to do the trick. 10) Awesome finish in stadium. 11) It was a hot day and they had hoses and misters. Cons: 1) More aid stations in a few places would be good given how hot the day of the marathon was this year. Note to racers: Book your hotel room VERY EARLY. I had to stay in Danville because everything was booked so soon. Also, I did the Full I-Challenge (ran 5K night before full marathon) and can say that the 5K was about the best I have EVER run. Finishes in the stadium and includes a nice shirt and medal...great support...really fun!

PROS: This was a well-run race from start to finish and I have no complaints about the organization. Everything was easy to get to, there was plenty of parking, the race started on time, the medals were pretty cool and the results were posted fast. CONS: I have to disagree, though, with anyone who says this is a flat and fast course. I have run a lot of marathons and would not put this one in the flat category. Chicago is flat. There aren't any big hills, as noted below, but it is rolling pretty much throughout with a lot of subtle inclines that are sustained for long stretches. Some of the hiller segments come late in the race when you're going through these quite, little neighborhoods and that can be tough mentally. As was also noted below, there is little crowd support and the course can get a little lonely in the later miles. That said, many of the residents come out and go to great lengths to support the runners, which I really appreciated. Also, the volunteers were great.

The towns of Champaign & Urbana seem to be surrounded by farm fields on all sides, so it's a scenic if somewhat uneventful drive from any direction. If you're thinking of running this one, get your hotel early because options seem to be limited. I signed up several months in advance and still ended up staying a half-hour from town. The expo was nice & packet pick-up was well-organized, but I wish it could've been held in a location other than the university's athletic complex. Traffic was very congested, and we had to park a long way away from the expo site. To reach the expo, we had to pass through a rec center where lots of students were exercising; directions to the expo were somewhat unclear. The race is held at a good time of year; weather was still fairly cool. The course has the potential to be quite fast. It was mostly very flat. We were packed in a bit too tight at the start. The entire race is on city streets, and the first half is run with the half-marathoners. After the midway point things get VERY quiet. The entire course is closed to traffic and all spectators are told to go to the stadium at the finish, so there are very few fans on the second half when you need the encouragement most. In fact, as you're running through the last few miles of residential neighborhoods, people are taking out their trash, watering their lawns, totally oblivious to the race. The finish at the stadium is cool, and the medals are nice. However, as others have noted, it is a burden climbing the stadium steps and fighting through crowds to get something to eat and drink after running 26 miles. I would rather finish on the street and have immediate access to amenities. Finishing on the 50 yard line is not that big of deal. Overall a nice race but I think some logistical changes need to be made before it can become a great one.

I went into this race (9th marathon) with a training plan to BQ and PR. I did not make either, mostly it just wasn't my day but the course was a bit more challenging than I had expected. There are a few stretches that are really long subtle grade increases that you feel in your legs. The one notable hill that I recall came at mile 24 which was really tough. The area was gorgeous in that section of the course but it's a tough spot to dig deep. Aid was great and plentiful to include several gel stations. There was definitely congestion in the park area (8-9.5ish) as others have described - hard to maintain your pace. I was a bit disappointed in the finish. It seemed somewhat empty with not many fans present. I only found this odd because I finished in under 4 hours. It seemed like all the excitement was focused more on the half, which was done at that point. Overall this race is well-run. The Expo was nice, the shirt was, well, BRIGHT, the pacers were good, the finish food was nothing exciting (but I don't run races for that) and the medal was fine! One note - book your hotel WELL in advance. If you are looking for a nice spring marathon for a great price, this is it!

I absolutely loved this race! It was incredibly well organized, had an interesting course (always something to look at), was a good size (not too crowded but you were never alone), and had amazing fan support! Every few blocks there would be volunteers or fans cheering for you. I ran the marathon in just under five hours and the fan support was still fabulous! From the moment I checked in at my hotel (workers were in marathon t-shirts) to the time I got into my car to come home, I felt very welcomed in Champaign. I will definitely run this one again. One last amazing thing: I handed my 'throw away' shirt to a volunteer at the two mile mark and it made it back to my gear check bag!

As others mentioned, this is a good-size race with terrific organization and course support. Parking right by the start/finish is non-issue. Long-sleeve shirt this year was in a highlight bright yellow. A bit too much. Would love to get one in U of I collors, but that's a small complain. The medal is nice. Food is sufficient.

This is a nice, well run marathon where a runner could certainly PR if the weather cooperates (it did in 2013). I usually avoid larger races like this one (1800 in full, 6200 in half and a 10k w/ a later start) but the logistics for this race made it feel easier like a smaller race. So you got the perks of a larger race like a bigger expo w/ race themed items; celebrities like Katherine Switzer, music on the course and good fan support. The race begins and ends on the U of Illinois campus (at the football stadium) and the expo is in their Rec center. All the parking lots used for a game makes parking super easy (and free). There were signs up directing runners to the lots. So the usual parking nightmares associated w/ a bigger race weren't an issue. The course as already stated is very flat but its not scenic. The route just weaves through a series of neighborhoods. Pleasant but monontonous. There were some rough roads while we were in the campus but otherwise the roads were fine. There is a 2 mile section from miles 8-10 where we run on a path through a park. Its pretty but the race is too big for such a small path. These miles were very congested especially with the Half marathon runners still in the pack. For a race this size there were not enough port-a-potties on the course. Even with 4 or more there were very long lines especially early in the race. There were plenty of water stops, they all had sports drink and quite a few had gel. My only critism here is the stops were disorganized and each one was different. Some times water was first, sometimes gatorade and the markings on the cup meant nothing. I know this sounds picky but late in a race when fatigue is an issue uniformity really helps. After the race I opted to use the showers at the Rec center. This was a nice perk! Also the race ends on the football field which is a fun ending! I liked the medal (of the stadium), the long sleeve tech shirt and we got a good quality gear bag.

At my pace, 3:20s, the field was crowded through Urbana until we split from the half. It then got lonesome for help cheating the wind heading back into Champaign. Thanks to all the great volunteers....I wasn't being rude just unable to speak ;)

My 32nd marathon and enjoyed running this event. It's a fast course with really no challenging hills. A great deal of the course is on concrete roads though and my 55 year-old knees took a pounding. Good race support and organization and everyone in town was great.

Not very scenic and the crowds are just average, but this was one of the best organized marathons I've ever participated in even with thousands of runners and multiple simultaneous events. The course is very flat and very fast. After running 50+ marathons I PRed by 8 minutes on this course. When I'm ready to attempt to qualify for Boston I'll come back here. Their 'challenge' races are also fun as I ran the 5k Friday night and the marathon Saturday morning for some nice medals.

My comments are for the half only. I've run it the past two years. Great volunteers and crowd support. Organization is fantastic. No problems with the packet pickup, pre-race bag drop, parking or the race itself. Excellent street control. The whole area is 'in-tune' with the race and very supportive. The course is moderately fast with only some gentle up and down grades. There is a section in the first part of the race where you run through a park/bike/walking area for maybe a couple miles. Basically it's a double wide concrete sidewalk. It's crowded during the race and they won't be able to grow this race without addressing this issue and altering the course. Don't tell anyone how wonderful this race is as I want to come back again and again! Huge thank you's to all the volunteers and support folks that make this race go. Fantastic job.

I have run this marathon every year since its debut - it is a great marathon! Course is listed on the 'top ten' fastest for those looking to BQ. Course meanders through Urbana and Champaign (university campus towns about 2 hrs south of Chicago, IL). Best part: course includes well-spaced aid stations and Marathoners are offered 4 GU stops - this is amazing!! Strong crowd support throughout - which is great for this mid-size race. Event coordinators have made it a full 'weekend/family' event - with various race distances, pasta dinner and motivational speakers, and small race expo. Registration includes technical running shirts (first year was long sleeve, then went to short-sleeve, and now going back to long-sleeve) and nicer, heavy-weight medal. Post-race food spread has thinned down in the past few years - note that runners have to climb up a few stadium steps to get to the food. In summary, this marathon is awesome for the flat/fast course, generous race stations, great crowd support, and event-packed weekend schedule!

I have run this race twice, and I'll be back again. It's not the most scenic, and living in this town, I've run this route about a billion times in training for other marathons. I could probably hit each tangent in my sleep. However, there is really something awesome about race day in this town. The support for this race is unbelievable and rivals races I've run in larger cities. There is really no part of this race I've run where you feel like you are alone, and that is beyond cool. You do run through mostly residential areas, and there is a slight, and i do mean slight elevation change between 23-25 miles. I admit, it's a crappy place for any elevation change, but honestly, if you run any marathons anywhere else in the country... It's not even a hill. This is about the flattest course I've ever run. The last mile of this race is almost completely downhill and you finish on the 50 yard line of memorial stadium, which is pretty awesome. Your family and friends can't wait for you there, but they are up in the stands, which are alphabetized, so it's easy to find them. You can buy a shower pass to clean up in the locker room there at the rec center for $5, and that is super handy if you are from out of town or if you aren't, and just want to relax those muscles in a warm shower and then eat without having to go home first.

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!