I was running with Brian last night and the topic of the new Illinois Marathon came up. Registration opens up June 1. I was considering whether to sign up. My plan was to do the McNaughton 100 miler and then run the marathon 2 weeks later. Then I found out the new marathon date has been moved to April 11 (from April 25). That's the same weekend as McNaughton Park! Unfortunately, I have already signed up for the McNaughton Park 100. I guess my decision about the Illinois Marathon has been made by others. With the same race date, a well-organized, local, 100 mile trail event (like McNaughton Park) wins every time over a road race. I wish the new marathon well, but I won't be volunteering or running it...my time will be spent on the trails in Pekin, IL. I suppose the two races really don't compete for the same group of runners. Still, it's too bad the dates couldn't mesh better for central Illinois ultra runners wanting to do both.
Registration for all three McNaughton Park races (50, 100, 150 miles) is already open. I encourage you to sign up. If you aren't ready for an excellent trail ultra, then try the new road marathon in Champaign/Urbana. It should be a good event. I guarantee the McNaughton Park event will be awesome!
3 comments:
I hope the Heaven’s Gate aid station at McNaughton remains intact. The race wouldn’t be the same without Buffalo!
That's a shame that they've moved the date up. I had toyed with the idea of running the Illinois Marathon, and was planning on hosting several out of town runners + volunteering if I didn't run, but McNaughton beckons...
I hope the Heaven's Gate aid station--staffed by a great group of fellow Buffalo--will still exist in 2009. I think it will. My dream of running an "easy" 100 miles at McNaughton, and then running hard at the inaugural Illinois Marathon (and maybe qualifying for Boston) is lost. Oh well. I hope the event goes well--Second Wind is a big part of the new marathon and I want it to be good for the club. But my heart, and legs, will be at McNaughton that full weekend (probably for 3 days!).
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