Half marathon, 5K combine for a big weekend in Naperville
Call it “Naperville's biggest running weekend” or Naperville's largest simultaneous school fundraiser — it's really one and the same.
The fifth annual Healthy Driven Naperville Half Marathon and 5K is part endurance challenge, part donation drive for nearly 400 racers who are running on behalf of the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation or the Naperville Education Foundation.
The event, for the first time, won't include a 26.2-mile full marathon, as the lengthy road race has been replaced with a challenge more manageable for many — a 3.1-mile 5K.
But race organizers, who call the event the city's “biggest running weekend,” say this year's shorter distances will strike the perfect balance, creating a special day for runners while allowing access to city streets for churchgoers, shoppers, retailers and residents.
“You get to show off Naperville from a running perspective and also have the streets right back open again in the briefest of times possible,” Race Director Dave Sheble said. “There's no reason to avoid downtown, really, at any time during that weekend.”
Race weekend begins Friday with packet pickup from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Naperville Park District's Fort Hill Activity Center, 20 Fort Hill Drive. It continues Saturday with more packet pickup hours from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the return of the Kids Marathon, a 1.2-mile race for kids who already have run one mile 25 times during a summer and fall of training.
The Kids Marathon starts at 3 p.m. Saturday at Naperville North High School, 899 Mill St., and allows youngsters to become marathoners without enduring the distance all at once.
The kids race is another in which Naperville-area schools shine. The Indian Prairie Educational Foundation alone has 487 students running, each of whom committed to raise $26 as part of their effort, said Susan Rasmus, the foundation's executive director.
When the grown-up race steps off at 7 a.m. Sunday on Eagle Street, north of Aurora Avenue, it will do so with an expanded field of charitable contributors as well, Sheble said.
Runners are raising money for 11 charities other than the two that fund schools, including the Edward Foundation supporting the race's title sponsor, Edward Elmhurst Health, and two new groups, Wheaton-based Donka, which provides technology training to people who are blind or have disabilities, and Arlington Heights-based Ignite Hope, which offers substance abuse counseling partnered with physical activity and volunteering for young adults battling addiction.
“There's a definite increase in charity runners this year despite the fact that there isn't a full marathon,” Sheble said.
Running and ‘raising has become a popular combination in Naperville because it turns a lonely activity into a community cause and gives school supporters a new way to ask for money.
“It truly is not just about you,” Rasmus said about the race. “It's about running for your school, running for your community and really making a difference.”
Parents and teachers alike will be lacing up for the half marathon and 5K, including Rebecca Rudy, who directs orchestras at two elementary schools and a junior high in Naperville Unit District 203.
With a carb-loading dinner earlier this month at Portillo's, Rudy strove to meet her Team NEF fundraising goal of $250 for the event, which comes during the foundation's 25th year.
Kate Schneider, a psychotherapist and founder of Ignite Hope, is running the half along with about 12 clients and 20 board members or supporters of the organization she launched in 2014.
She's challenging clients, who are 18- to 25-year-olds striving to recover from substance abuse, to beat her average pace in order to earn some scholarship money for continuing education.
“My hope is that they get the running bug,” Schneider said. “They'll feel that atmosphere of a race-day atmosphere and they'll do more of it.”
The “running bug” is expected to bring about 3,500 half marathoners and 1,000 5K runners to Naperville for a course that takes a path much like last year's route — but reverses its direction.
Runners will travel east and south along subdivision streets, cross the DuPage River near 75th Street, then continue west until West Street and head north to finish where they started, dumping them right into downtown Naperville for some post-race nosh.
“The whole downtown is still the biggest post-race party around,” Sheble said.
From some vantage points on Water Street, Hillside Road and Eagle Street, spectators will be able to see runners in both races as they head out and as they near the finish, Sheble said.
A detour map the city has created is available at https://www.naperville.il.us/enjoy-naperville/healthy-driven-naperville-half-marathon-and-5k/. The city and organizers expect all parking restrictions and road closures will be lifted by noon.
5th annual Healthy Driven Naperville Half Marathon and 5K
<b>When:</b> Races begin 7 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 22; road closures and parking restrictions expected to be cleared by noon
<b>Where:</b> Races begin on Eagle Street, just north of Aurora Avenue; course map available at <a href="http://runnaperville.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NVMR13-5k-2017d-New5k-2017-09-05150ppi1.pdf">http://runnaperville.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NVMR13-5k-2017d-New5k-2017-09-05150ppi1.pdf</a>
<b>Spectator spots:</b> Water Street between Main and Webster streets; Main Street between Aurora Avenue and Hillside Road; Hillside Road between Main and Webster streets; West Street between Osler Drive and Aurora Avenue
<b>Key road closures:</b> Parts of Aurora Avenue, Charles Street, Elizabeth Avenue, Hillside Road, Hobson Road, Jackson Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, Laurel Lane, Main Street, Mill Street, Spring Avenue, Spruce Drive, Sycamore Drive, Tupelo Avenue, Washington Street, Water Street, Webster Street and West Street, among others
<b>Key parking restrictions:</b> All roads closed for the course and parts of Benton Avenue, Columbia Street, Douglas Avenue, Franklin Street, Fremont Street, Highland Avenue, Julian Street, Laird Street, Loomis Street, Martin Avenue, Sleight Street, Washington Street and Wright Street, among others