2,100 to run 'beautiful' Fox Valley Marathon on Sunday

You won't find Carrie Matczynski mixing and mingling after the second annual Advocate Dreyer Fox Valley Marathon kicks off Sunday morning in St. Charles.

The 39-year-old Elgin woman plans to say her hellos, put on her earphones and find her zone for the 26.2-mile trek that will take her and nearly 2,100 other runners south on the Fox River Trail to Aurora and back.

“It's my first marathon. I kind of bounce between excited and terrified. It depends on the day,” she said.

Matczynski has competed in triathlons and wanted to run a marathon because running was her weakest category. Sunday's race is a warm-up for next month's Chicago Marathon.

“Fox Valley has like 2,000 runners. It's going to me a much smoother run (than Chicago). You're running on a trail, which is nice. There's more shade,” she said. “It's a gorgeous course. That's probably the biggest thing. (Organizers) give a nice individualized feel to the race.”

More than 1,100 runners participated in the first Fox Valley Marathon last year, said Dave Sheble, race director. This year, nearly 2,100 people signed up and the field was full by June.

“We had a good first year,” he said, adding that runners a re coming from 35 states, Canada and from as far as Romania. “The word got out that it's a race with big-race amenities and a small-race feel.”

About half the runners Sunday will run in the half marathon. Race organizers also offered runners the option of deciding on Sunday whether to do the full marathon or a 20-mile run, which is the distance for one of the final runs before a marathon in some training regimens.

“Runners love it. It's a great new option they didn't have before,” Sheble said.

Organizers also have adjusted the course, which runs from downtown St. Charles through Geneva, Batavia and North Aurora before turning around in Aurora. There are fewer areas where runners face two-way traffic.

Sheble said there are plenty of good spots along the course to cheer on runners and more information is available on the website fv26.com. He also credited sponsors and the more than 1,000 volunteers who will help on race day.

Tim Arends, 42, of St. Charles, will have his wife, Theresa, and their two kids, Luke, 9, and Leo, 6, waiting at the finish line.

“I really had a good time and enjoyed myself. It was a really good experience,” said Arends, who ran in the event last year. “This one in the Fox Valley is so convenient and it's so well organized. There's tons of great fan support. The course is beautiful.”

He qualified for the Boston Marathon at a spring marathon this year in Schaumburg. He's nursing a tweaked hamstring this time around, but plans to gut it out.

“There is that sense of community in the race. You do feel it's more of a personal event. Other than getting someone to run the race for you, I don't think it can get any better,” he said with a laugh.

For more information about the race and post-race events, visit the main page at fv26.com.