Naperville's Last Fling adding 5K next year

Last Fling organizers in Naperville are planning a new 5K, but anyone who wants to run the 3.1-mile race on Labor Day morning will have to wait until next year.

Naperville Jaycees got city council approval to expand the athletic options of their annual Labor Day weekend festival to include a 5K as well as the Fling Mile. But Last Fling Coordinator Chad Pedigo said the new 5K is not scheduled to take place until 2015 to make sure the Jaycees and the city can coordinate and plan the best race possible.

"The process takes well over a year," Pedigo said. No pun intended, but, "you can't race through it."

Special events such as 5K races have to be listed on the city's special events calendar for a given year, which usually is approved the previous December. So Pedigo said Jaycees began working early this year on adding a longer race, potentially called the Rooster Run, for 2015.

The race's working name comes from the Jaycees' term for former members who are older than 40 and not as heavily involved with the club. Pedigo said one "Rooster" who likes to run brought forward the idea for the 5K.

"Wouldn't it be awesome if we could expand on the Fling Mile that everyone has loved for so long?" Pedigo said.

The tentative course for the 5K uses many of the same streets as the Fling Mile and the Labor Day Parade. It is likely to run on Mill Street, Jefferson Avenue, Main Street, Eagle Street and Aurora Avenue, and it might have to double back on some of those streets to make up the full 3.1-mile distance, Pedigo said.

Proceeds from runner registration fees would combine with other money the Jaycees raise during the Last Fling and be donated back to charities.

"Our No. 1 goal as Jaycees is to do as much good for the community as possible," Pedigo said.

Organizers expect to begin announcing musical acts in the coming weeks. This year's Last Fling runs Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.