Rockford Marathon, Half, Ready to Go

On a very busy running weekend, the Rockford Marathon and Half marathon will commence at 7 a.m. on Sunday from that city's downtown area. Most of the course is along the Rock River, whch should be scenic. Let's hope it's not too close to flood stage! This is a well-organized event that does draw runners from the Chicago area.
Good luck to everyone competing here and at all of the other runs throughout the area on Sunday morning.

Magellan Half, 10K Set for Lakefront

Registration closes at 5 p.m. on Thursday for the third annual Magellan Chicago Spring Half Marathon --A Life Time Athletic and Endurance event. They say a field of 4,500 is epected. I'm not sure where they are on signups. The event venue location is "The Park at Lakeshore East." If you plan to run, act accordingly. If you're already signed up, good luck!

Spring Marathon/Half Marathon Set to Debut

The ever-changing Chicago running landscape express includes this weekend's first Chicagoland Spring Marathon & Half Marathon in Schaumburg and Busse Woods. Registration remains open for the Sunday races, which begin at 7:15 a.m. in the Schaumburg commercial district. Runners then will head into Busse Woods for some nice scenic racing on a great path familiar to many of us over theyears. Put on by All-Community Events, the new event is presented by Dick Pond Athletics. If you're looking for pacers, the Fast Track Racing Team will be providing them. If you haven't signed up and want to, get on it. Caps are 1,000 for the half and 2,000 for the full. I may update this as I hear about possible race favorites etc. Yes, it's USATF-certified and can be used as a Boston qualifier!

Favela, Druien Conquer the Quarryman

The annual Quarryman 10-miler in Lemont provided some big hills and big performances on Saturday with Emisael Favela, 34, of Berwyn, taking overall honors in 54:26. Matt Dettloff, 22, of Palatine was second in 59:14, and Charles Wiegand, 32, of La Grange Park, a guy I know well through the Runner's Soul stores, finished third in 1:00:09. Amber Druien, 25, of Woodstock, was the runaway women's winner in 1:01:51. Coming in second was Hailey Krzyston, 19, of Burr Ridge, in 1:11:14, and nabbing third was Tiffany Cruickshank, 40, of Hinsdale, in 1:11:21. Looking through the results, there were quite a few top-tier age-group runners in the field. Congrats to all who persevered on this tough, grueling course.

Meineke, Fredrickson Win Wisconsin Marathon

In a unique race that blends talent from Wisconsin and Illinois plus a few other states, Zachary Meineke, 23, of Wauwatosa, WI, won the Wisconsin Marathon in Kenosha, WI, on Sunday with a 2:37:58. Matthew Levine, 37, of Crystal Lake, IL, was a distant second in 2:47:07, and Brian Udovich, 36, of Oconomowoc, WI, took the "bronze" in 2:50:15. On the women's side in the event produced by Chicago Athlete magazine, Nacole Fredrickson, 31, of Milwaukee, won in 3:02:02. Next was Annie Fennema, 24, of Ann Arbor, MI, in 3:08:31, and third went to CARA executive director Wendy Jaehn, 36, of Chicago, in 3:16:26. Way to go, Wendy! In the half-marathon, Mac McCulley, 26, of Volo, IL, was the winner in 1:14:33. Runner-up honors went to Kevin Craigo, 26, of Columbus, OH, in 1:16:31, and third was taken by Andy Ruffalo, 31, of West Bend, WI, in 1:17:31. He won the marathon last year. The women's half was won by Rachel Paape, 32, of Elkhorn, WI, in 1:27:03. Second went to Jennifer Pfaff, 34, of Indianapolis, IN, in 1:27:30, and third was taken by Lindsay Garcia, 28, of Kenosha, WI, in 1:31:26. There were 711 marathon finishers and 2,075 half-marathon finishers. Nice job all around!

So Many Runs, So Little Time

This Mother's Day weekend racing schedule in and near Chicago is incredible. The Wisconsin Marathon, the Quarryman 10-miler, the Channahon 25K and many, many more will keep racing on the front burner at all distances and ability levels. Heck, the one I'm doing, the Door County Half Marathon, isn't even on the Chicago Athlete schedule, which is the most complete in the area. D.C. has 1,500 runners signed up for a hilly 13.1 in beautiful Peninsula Park. I can't want. I've never done it.
Enjoy the weekend. It should be good to go for running, even with a few showers possible here and there. It feels like spring is really trying to kick winter out for good. Let's hope so. Good luck if you're racing.

Cinco de Miler Virtually Filled

If you sign up now, you might in Saturday's Cinco de Miler, a five-miler on the south lakefront that finishes at Soldier Field. At this writing, race organizers say the field is 98 percent filled. Start time is 9:30 a.m. The course starts at 39th and Oakwood and heads south a bit before heading north with a finish just south of Waldron Drive. This one will be big, so if you're running, get there early! The post race party will be staged at the Soldier Field Stadium Green. Good luck, and have fun!