Nearly 11,000 runners celebrate Tradition and Triumph over three days of racing
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The 16th running of the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend hosted over 10,800 participants from April 24 to April 26. Locals and visitors from around the nation and the world took on a variety of courses, including a marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K, mile, marathon relay, youth run, and even had the opportunity to choose between eight different multi-event challenges throughout the weekend. Cool temperatures and overcast skies made way for many personal bests. Notable results included repeat marathon wins for the men’s and nonbinary divisions, repeat winners for the men’s and women’s 10K, and a new women’s half marathon course record. All results are now available online.
The Illinois Marathon took participants on a scenic tour of the University of Illinois campus, downtown streets, tree-lined residential neighborhoods, paved park trails and wrapped up at the unique finish line located at the 50-yard line of the University of Illinois’ historic Memorial Stadium. Champaign local and men’s marathon champion Jaime Marcos completed the 26.2 miles in 2:22:23, a nearly seven-minute improvement on his winning time from last year’s race. The women’s marathon course was led by Tera Moody, who finished with a time of 2:47:21. The top non-binary division marathon finisher, Kamden Romano, returned to the top of the podium for the second year in a row with a time of 3:25:32. Romano’s time improved by over 25 minutes from last year.
The wheelchair half marathon race was championed by Hoda Elshorbagy, who finished with an overall time of 57:45.
Lanni Marchant’s win of the women’s division of the half marathon bested Pasca Myers’ 1:13:18 finish in 2019, the previous course record. Marchant finished in 1:12:45 to take the new record by 33 seconds. The men’s half marathon division was led by Curtis Eckstein, who finished with a time of 1:05:25. Corey Peters took first in the non-binary division, finishing in 1:55:19.
Both the 10K men’s and women’s champions, Brian Bundren and Trish Black, returned to win for the second year in a row. Benjamin Joselyn won the non-binary 10K.
The 5K highlights include Kyle Hummel taking home first in the men’s division, Samantha Mabry in the women’s division and Alder Philipps in the non-binary divisions. In the Michael Hogue Team Mile, Will O’Brien topped the podium for elite men. Mabry, the 5K women’s winner, also took the top miler spot in the women’s elite division.
The Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend has a mission of creating a race weekend that is welcoming to all. Year after year, their team works towards creating new and inclusive race features, with this year’s additions including the creation of the Welcome Wave, a dedicated heat within the Busey Illinois Youth Run, designed to be disability-friendly. This wave is specifically tailored for families and participants with disabilities of all ages. This year’s Welcome Wave hosted nearly 20 runners.
Additional race programming include working directly with Deaf athletes and PACE to ensure that needs are met in order for Deaf runners to experience Race Weekend to its full potential. The collaboration with Deaf athletes started last year, as did the creation and launch of the non-profit, Kicks for CU Kids, built in partnership with local running store, Body n’ Sole Sports. The organization aims to provide free running shoes and socks to youth in need who participate in the 5K or Busey Bank Illinois Youth Run, allowing them to reach their goals confidently during Race Weekend.
The Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend continues to assist in fundraising efforts for the local community. Since its inception, it has donated $1.846 million to charities in the community and generated an estimated $5 million in economic impact annually.
For more information about Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend, visit
www.IllinoisMarathon.com and follow the event on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
ABOUT CHRISTIE CLINIC ILLINOIS RACE WEEKEND
The Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend is an annual running event that takes participants through the scenic streets of Champaign-Urbana & Savoy, Ill. It is one of the 100 largest races in the United States, drawing over 15,000 runners in past years. Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend is led by award-winning Race Director Jan Seeley. The event made a triumphant post-pandemic return and remains committed to fostering a happy, healthy community in central Illinois. The 2026 edition will take place on April 23-25, 2026, and will feature a 1-mile, 5K, 10K, half marathon, full marathon, 4-person relay, youth run and multi-event challenges. To learn more about the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend, visit www.IllinoisMarathon.com.