Illinois Marathon course: route, elevation and race day

The race does not publish an elevation figure on its course page, so the numbers come from the USA Track and Field certificate it names on its marathon page, IL19001DT, valid until the end of 2029. The certificate puts the start at 179 m and the finish at 178 m above sea level, with the lowest point at 175 m and the highest at 185 m. That is a net drop of 1 m and a 10 m (about 33 ft) band for the whole course.

A certificate gives the start, finish, lowest and highest points, not the total climb in between, so read 10 m as the range the course stays inside. Even so, there is very little up or down to plan around.

For Boston qualifiers that matters twice. The B.A.A. accepts qualifying times only from certified courses, and it adjusts times only from courses with a net downhill of 1,500 ft (457.2 m) or more, so an Illinois time goes in as run. The standards are on our Boston qualifying times page, and the BQ Course Index compares other certified courses.

This section is Runsy's advice, not the race's. It is how we would run this course from the facts above.

• Treat it as an even-pace course. With the whole route inside a 10 m band, there are no hills to bank time on or lose time to. Pick a goal pace and hold it from the first mile.
• Miles 0 to 3: let the wave settle. The marathon and half marathon start together at 7:33, so the campus miles are busy. A few seconds lost here cost less than weaving.
• Miles 3 to 12, the Urbana loop: lock in. This is the longest section. Take the oranges near 6.5 or the GU at 6.75 if they are part of your plan, and check your pace when you pass First and Green again at 13.2.
• Miles 13 to 24, Champaign and Savoy: fuel on schedule. GU comes at 13.5, 17 and 21. Take gels at the same points in your long runs, so race day is not the first time your stomach meets them.
• Miles 24 to 26.2: run it in. The last two miles bring you back to Gies Memorial Stadium. If you held an even pace, this is where you pass people.
• Train for a Saturday race. Most plans put the long run on Sunday. Move yours to Saturday mornings for the last couple of months, and start a few at 7:30 a.m. to rehearse breakfast timing.

Turn a goal time into splits with the marathon pace chart, or sanity-check the goal with the race time predictor.

From the race's 2027 marathon, course and schedule pages.

• Fluids: 18 hydration stations, all with water and 16 with lemon lime Nuun Endurance.
• Fuel: GU at miles 6.75, 13.5, 17 and 21, oranges near mile 6.5 on Amber Drive, and GU and bananas at mile 24.5.
• Time limit: 6 hours from the start of the last wave.
• Bags: bag drop opens at 5:30 a.m. on First Street, north of the start line.
• Course records: 2:18:11 for men and 2:36:51 for women, both from 2019.

Training for it: our intermediate marathon plans are the base the plan bridge above builds from. The 16-week beginner plan suits a first marathon, and the advanced plans suit runners chasing a qualifying time.