Set for its 15th annual running this year, Champaign’s Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K has seen growing numbers of entrants over the years, and now attracts more than 15,000 runners, walkers, wheelchair competitors and relay runners for a run along the fast and flat streets of the Champaign/Urbana area each year.

The half and full marathons as well as the 5K race all shared the same starting line and time, at Assembly Hall on 1st Street just south of St. Mary’s Road, on the University of Illinois campus.

From there, the point-to-point course for the 13.1-mile follows a winding loop that’s also the same course as the full marathon for its first 11 miles, after which those running the full break off and those running the half make their way toward the finish line on the 50-yard line at the University’s Memorial Stadium, the home of the “Fighting Illini.”

In between the start and finish lines, the course winds through city streets and tree-lined residential neighborhoods in both Champaign and Urbana, along parts of the campus, and along the trails that wind through Urbana’s Meadowbrook Park.

For the most part, the course for the half is fast and flat, with a few long straightaways stretches mixed in with a number of twists and turns. The course features an overall elevation change of 85 feet, with its lowest point at the mile 9 marker (about 705 feet above sea level) and its highest point near the finish line, at about 780 feet.

In addition to the full marathon, half marathon, and 5K Run/Walk, the race also features a 1K Youth Fun Run, which also finishes at Memorial Stadium, as well as a wheelchair division for the half marathon and a full marathon relay, for teams of four runners each.

Note: The 5K is run on Friday evening, while the half marathon, full marathon, and 10K are run on Saturday morning.

04-29-2023, 07:30 am - 01:30 pm