Beardstown has always been known as a tough little river town and as I drove through it today, I decided that is probably still true. But, although it looks a little run down in places, it has a lot of history and a lot of community spirit, as evidenced by this week-end's Fall Fun Festival and the Pat Cowen Memorial 5K that is a part of the festival.
The race is a very informal affair, with no water stops, timing board, race markings or mile posts. The runners' race numbers were hand drawn on card board and the race began when the guy said "Go." Read more »

I'm finally running on my own again, as opposed to just running in a race every couple of weeks. That training, combined with an evening race, cool weather and a determination to take a 5K race seriously, led me to what I believe is a personal best for me for a 5K tonite, when I ran a 24:11 in the Fairfield Fall Fun Fest 5K Run in Wayne County.
I've always been an evening runner, so I had no troubles taking the afternoon off work today to drive to Fairfield for this Thursday evening race. The drive was long, so I resolved to make it worth my effort. Read more »

I was volunteering at the Illinois State Fair three weeks ago when I met a very nice man from Henderson County. We talked a little bit and then I started to give him a hard time about Henderson County not having any races, which was hurting my efforts to run a race in every Illinois county. "Funny you should say that," the man said, "because the first ever Henderson County Fair Fun Run is being held on Labor Day." So, that's where I was was today, running a 5K in the small town of Stronghurst, in historic and picturesque Henderson County. Read more »

Well, it was a Hull of a Race. I've wanted to say that ever since I learned that the tiny town of Hull, in Pike County, had a 5K race called a Hull of a Race. I ran it today and it was nice.
Hull is very small and only 9 miles from the Mississippi River and Hannibal, Missouri. I was surprised and impressed by the turnout for the race and the 5K walk. It was much larger than I would have expected. Read more »

I don't know why but I've always wanted to run in the Run for the Bagel 10K in Mattoon. Maybe it is because so few people, especially on the East Coast, know that Mattoon is the home of Lender's Bagels and is the bagel capital of the world. It is just another great thing about Illinois that makes this place special. Mattoon, a town of 18,000, is also the home of the original Burger King, but that is another story. Read more »

This was a tough race and definitely my worst of the year. I'm talking about the 37th annual Lincoln Douglas 8 Mile Run in Metamora today. Still, I'm glad I did the race, which was well organized and challenging. Boy was it challenging. Read more »

There were a lot of good races to choose from today to run in. Leading the pack would have been the Steamboat Classic 15K in Peoria County and the ERFAE Duckfest 5K in Richland County. There were other good races as well. However, I didn't think I'd be running at all today due to a kid's early baseball game. So, when that got rained out, I went close to home and ran in the Stonington Summerfest 5K run and walk. Read more »

Well, it was a long way to drive to run a 5K, but I really wanted to knock out Wabash County this year, so I drove to Mt. Carmel, Illinois this morning and ran in the Mt. Carmel Public Library Foundation 5K. It was a nice little race and my time was 25:52, not bad for me.
A year ago I didn't even think Wabash County had any races, but this is actually the third year in a row for this one. Read more »

OK, so apparently a workout regimen of almost no running or stretching and a diet of high calory food, beer and soda is not the best way to stay in shape. Read more »

I ran the Tough Enough to Wear Pink 10K in Hutsonville, Illinois today. It was a very small race done to help fund finding a cure for breast cancer. There was a 1 mile walk or run, a 5K walk or run, a 10K race and a 15 mile bike race. Most races of this type limit themselves to just a 5K and maybe a 1 mile fun walk, so I give the sponsors credit for the varied races they put on (I probably wouldn't have run the race if it didn't have the 10K). However, I don't think any of the events had very many participants. I'm guessing the 10K might only have had 12 runners or so. Read more »