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Illinois Marathon
The inaugural Illinois Marathon is a marathon to be held on April 11th in Champaign Illinois. This event will be the first marathon that has ever been held in Champaign. The course is very flat and it is expected to produce fast times. There is only 85 feet or elevation throughout the course. The event will include 5 different races. Runners will look forward to completing in any of the races. Christie Clinic has been named the title sponsor of the Illinois Marathon for the next five years. The races that are offered include: The only marathon in Illinois outside of the Chicago Marathon, the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon is expected to attract an estimated 10,000 runners in the first year and 15,000-20,000 runners by year five. Christie Clinic did host an annual Run for the Health of it event in the past, but now the clinic will no longer host this event due to its involvement in the Illinois Marathon. Like the Run for the Health of It, the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon will be committed to supporting local charities.
 * Marathon (26.2 miles)
 * Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
 * Four-Person Marathon/Relay
 * 5K Fun Run/Walk
 * 1/2 Mile Youth Race and 1 Mile Youth Race

Mission Statement
The Illinois Marathon Mission Statement: Quality is a top priority for the marathon. "The Illinois Marathon is committed to being a responsible member of society, giving back to our community, the state, and charities." The Illinois Marathon also wants spectators and runners to find how important exercise is in leading a healthy lifestyle.

Course information
The Illinois Marathon will be run throughout Champaign and Urbana Illinois. The starting line is near the University of Illinois' Assembly Hall in Champaign, IL. The races will finish at the 50 yard line of Zuppke Field in Memorial Stadium. The playing field is named after University of Illinois Football Coach Robert Zuppke who was able to win four national championships in 1914, 1919, 1923, and 1927. The course map for the 5K, the half marathon, the four-person marathon/relay, and the marathon can be found here. Listed on this map are details about relay exchange zone, water stations, energy drink stations, energy gel stations, medical stations, and entrainment. There is an interactive map which allows you to see how traffic will be affected for the day. The interactive map also provides the volunteers some basic instructions.

Volunteers Rally
The inaugural Illinois Marathon was near cancellation due to the lack of volunteers as of March 16, 2009. The event had about 100 volunteer and need about 100 to 150 more in order to have the race safely. Local officials set an April 1, 2009 deadline for the event planners to have enough staff to keep the 7,600 runners safe at the 311 intersections crossed during the race. Lt. Jon Swenson of the Champaign Police Department said, "There's people coming from all over the continental United States and four foreign countries, and it's not something you can cancel on a moment's notice, we indicated our concerns to them about the urgency to get their volunteers secured so we know we're prepared to move forward with the event." Without more volunteers the event would not go on. Mark Knutson the executive director of the company that is organizing the first-ever Illinois Marathon was in a bind. After the information that the marathon might get cancelled was made public the community responded. Within four days 350 people volunteered saving the race.

External Link

 * http://www.christieclinic.com/news/article/?id=101
 * http://www.illinoismarathon.com/index.html