More Than 1,000 Run in Fox Valley Marathon Events

Experienced racers Elise Conner and Shawn Glanville ran in many events before, often racing step-for-step with the most elite of marathon competitors. But prior to Sunday morning, they had never run such a race in their own hometown of St. Charles.

"I'm here to support the race organizers," said Glanville, who also ran the first-ever 26.2-mile Fox Valley Marathon in an effort to qualify for the upcoming Boston Marathon. "I'm very proud to see this beginning here."

Conner, who had already qualified for the Boston Marathon, opted to run the 20-Mile Fall Final Run on Sunday. She and Glanville were among the more than 1,000 runners who competed in the marathon, half marathon and 20-miler, which attracted runners from throughout the St. Charles area, several states and countries including Japan. A blind runner competed, as did a man who had been born in a car on Route 64, just a few blocks from the finish line at the west end of the Illinois Street bridge.

Valerie Blaine of St. Charles came in first in the women's 55 to 59 age division in the half-marathon with an unofficial time of 2:02. She was satisfied with her results.

"It was a good speed," Blaine said. "The older I get, the faster I get."

Blaine was encouraged by spectators who cheered as runners passed by.

"It's a beautiful course," Blaine said of the race route, which included bike path sections. "The neighborhood spirit helps you along."

Tera Moody, a former St. Charles High School standout who placed fifth at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Boston and represented the U.S. at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany, came in second place overall in the 20-miler.

"The organizers did a great job for having three races at once," Moody said. "The mile markers were a little off on the 20-miler, but that's the only complaint I have. I'm really impressed with how organized they are."

She said she started the race suspecting that the width of the bike path may not have been able to accommodate multiple runners, but it was "not a problem."

The bike path was an attraction for John Kleinsteiber of Paxton, IL, who ran the marathon with his 20-year-old daughter, Rachel.

"I'd been on the bike trail here five or six times, so I knew it would be a nice, shady, level course," John Kleinsteiber.

The Fox Valley Marathon was the first for Rachel Kleinsteiber, a student at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL, though she has run half marathons. She said the timing of the marathon made it possible for her to train and attend school.

John Kleinsteiber joked that he'd like to finish the race during "the day time," Rachel Kleinsteiber said the "big thing is to finish and not to die … then it's back to school Monday and I have five classes. I hope I can move."

Race co-organizer Dave Sheble said race time weather, with partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 56 degrees, were "absolutely ideal."

The overall winner of the Fox Valley Marathon was Michael Iacofano of Medina, OH; the overall winner of the half-marathon was Brian Gurdowski of Buffalo Grove, IL and the overall winner of the 20-mile race was Steve Breese of Schaumburg, IL.