Chicago runner wins Naperville's Fling Mile

It took Josh Hilman about 7 minutes, 30 seconds to run the Fling Mile Monday morning through downtown Naperville.

The 13-year-old Washington Junior High student said he follows a simple strategy.

"I start off fast, I go slower in the middle and then I sprint at the end," he said, adding that he sees running as a means to an end. "It's practice for cross-country and track, and mostly soccer, because that's my first sport."

The first-place overall finisher in the race, which is presented by the Naperville Jaycees in conjunction with the organization's annual Last Fling Labor Day weekend bash, was 26-year-old Juan Carrillo of Chicago.

Carrillo estimated he ran the 5,280 feet from Naperville North High School to the Eagle Street bridge in either 4 minutes, 19 seconds or 4 minutes, 20 seconds. The race was manually timed; race organizers said results will later be posted at www.chicagoaa.com.

"I'm training for the Pan American Games in 2011," Carrillo said.

Jaycees race organizer Kevin Gensler said 83 runners preregistered for the race, but about 200 runners were actually expected to race.

"We get a lot of race-day signup," he said. "We've got a bunch of families signed up to all run together. There aren't many timed, mile runs. It's a distance young and old can do together."

Heidi Rees, a teacher at Washington Junior High, said she finished with a time of 6 minutes, 26 seconds.

"Naperville has a lot of really great runners in my age group (30-39)," she said.

The race began a half-hour before the Labor Day parade started and was plotted along the same course, so city workers would have to close only one route to traffic, Gensler said.

Rees said the course was good for runners, who had to contend with a bright, hot sun as they pounded the asphalt.

"It's beautiful, all downhill most of the way, so it's fast," she said.

Before the race, Kevin Madden and Chris Marposon relaxed on the sunny Eagle Street bridge, a few yards from the finish line. They said they'd just finished running six miles along the Prairie Path.

"We're both marathon training right now," said Madden.

But Marposon said neither of them planned to run the Fling Mile.

"We're here for the moral support," he said.

"We know some people, friends and their children, and we're here to cheer them on," Madden said.