Kids can join marathon in Naperville this fall
Marathoning is typically reserved for adults, but a new event this fall in Naperville will open the activity up to a younger crowd.
Held in conjunction with the fourth annual Healthy Driven Naperville Marathon & Half Marathon, the Kids Marathon is actually a 1.2-mile race for 5- through 13-year-olds at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 - the day before the main event. But it lays claim to the marathon distance because it comes with a pre-race challenge: Run one mile with an adult 25 times throughout the summer and record it on a running log.
Race organizers with Naper Events LLC say they expect hundreds of kids and their parents to run the final 1.2 miles together around Naperville North High School in a celebration of a fitness mission accomplished.
Participating in the Kids Marathon, Race Director Dave Sheble says, gets families focused on fitness in a noncompetitive format that still demands consistent effort from young runners.
"It gets them active at a level they feel comfortable with," Sheble said. "It gets them used to a commitment to something, too, because this is a long time. Twenty-five total miles prior to race weekend is quite a commitment."
Kids who go the distance will receive for their $12 entry fee a T-shirt and finishers medal. Parents can download a coloring book-style running log, set to be available soon at runnaperville.com/kids-marathon/, to track training progress.
While race directors were planning the first Kids Marathon, they also were finalizing this year's courses for the full and half marathon. The routes were approved Tuesday.
The course stays off several segments of arterial roads it used last year, such as Chicago Avenue, Book Road and Ogden Avenue. Instead, it uses neighborhood streets.
As marathoners approach the finish, they won't be on Washington Street, but on the nearby DuPage River Trail.
And the start/finish has been moved from Eagle Street, where last year it occupied one of three downtown bridges over the DuPage River, to Webster Street one block east, which doesn't have a bridge.
Sheble said these changes were made to ease concerns of business operators after the race traveled through the heart of the city's downtown for the first time last year.
To avoid clogging south Naperville traffic on Book Road, the course also covers less east-west distance. This means more winding and fewer straightaways for runners.
"It's much more condensed," Sheble said. "That makes it much easier for residents to get around Naperville."
The marathon and half marathon, sponsored by Edward-Elmhurst Health, begin at 7 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23. The marathon is a qualifier for the 2018 Boston Marathon.