Back to the streets: Starved Rock Country Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K return Saturday

After a two-year absence, the full 26.2-mile Starved Rock Country Marathon is back in La Salle County on Saturday, being held in conjunction with the Starved Rock Country Half Marathon and Run Starved Rock Country 5K.

After being completely canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Starved Rock Country Half Marathon and Run Starved Rock Country 5K returned in 2021, although moved back on the calendar from their traditional late-spring slot to late summer. The full 26.2-mile marathon, however, was not run.

“It’s not so much [that it was] difficult to bring it back, because we have always had great support from law enforcement, the fire departments, the cities and municipalities that we run through,” SRC Marathon event organizer Matt Skelly said. “We’ve always had that great support, and they continue to be supportive of it. Last year, it was just the timing of it in and around the park, because it was a busy time in September, and some road construction and some stuff like that. It was just not conducive to having the full marathon last year.”

It is good, however, to have the “big-ticket” race back.

“The marathon is kind of the prestigious event,” Skelly said. “Not that the half isn’t [prestigious], but the marathon is kind of the big-ticket item. There have been several marathons in Illinois that have canceled or are no longer happening. It’s nice that we’re still doing it.”

The races will take place Saturday through downtown Ottawa west to Starved Rock State Park. The full SRC Marathon and Run Starved Rock Country 5K will begin at 7 a.m. in front of The Lone Buffalo (812 La Salle St., Ottawa). The Starved Rock Country Half Marathon will begin about 15 minutes later at Starved Rock State Park.

“Tangled Roots has stepped up and is our presenting sponsor,” Skelly said. “And it’s really cool. We’ll be starting right outside their restaurant, The Lone Buffalo. That’s a new thing, which is nice, because we always try to do things local ... and that’s just a continuation of that.”

All three races will share a finish line – the same one as in recent years – on the north bank of the Illinois River just west of Route 23. The first full marathon finishers are expected to come in at or shortly before 9:30 a.m.

This is the eighth running of the Starved Rock Country Marathon. About 500 runners are signed up across all three races – a bit down from previous runnings, although that is no surprise considering the break in routine and ongoing pandemic concerns.

“We’re pretty happy with [the numbers],” Skelly said. “Coming out of COVID and everything else, we saw a lot of runners a little bit hesitant and such. We’re feeling pretty good about it, and we’re going to put on a good event for who’s here.”

Arguably the main draw to the Starved Rock Country Marathon and Half Marathon is their courses’ beautiful terrain and scenery. Not far behind, however, are the people of the Illinois Valley and the atmosphere of the event.

“We encourage people from all over to come out, come to the finish line, or if you live along the race route [come out and cheer],” Skelly said. “We have a lot of people who live along the race route go out in their driveway, and they cheer on the runners. Our runners truly appreciate that. We hear it time and time again. They like coming here, and the support the community give us is great.

“And thank you to all of our sponsors who continually come out in full support of this event. It’s one of the only local events that has a truly international appeal. ... Marathons are something. We were one of 15, and now we’re one of, I think, 12 in the state of Illinois, if not less.

“It’s pretty cool.”