The morning of St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th, 2019), racers of all ages participated in the All Community Events Bolingbrook St. Paddy’s Half Marathon and 5k. Race participants were decked out in festive wear and accessories, including but not limited to, tutus, shamrock socks, fun hats and headbands. The Half Marathon and 5k race started promptly at 8:30 am, which was preceded by a Kid’s Dash.
The course was a mix between street/road and the bike path. The half marathon course had to be changed around a little a few days before the race due to flooding. The course had some hills, but other than the few inclines, it was pretty much a fast, flat-ish course. The Bolingbrook police and volunteers were fantastic at keeping us runners safe as we were running across and on the streets. The volunteers at the water stations and along the across were vibrant and always cheering for the runners passing by.
The temperature was in the low 30’s at the start of the race, with some snow flurries expected, but the snow never came; it was just cloudy. After 1 hour of the race start, the sun had come out and the temperature warmed up to the mid 30’s.
All 5k and Half Marathon finishers received a pint finishers glass, shamrock cookies, among other snacks, and a grey fleece hoodie which was given out at packet pick up. All of the Half Marathon finishers received a green St. Paddy’s Medal.
5k Female Winners: 1st– Catherine Ihrke with a time of 21:41.5. 2nd– Jillian Hendzlik with a time of 22:59.9. 3rd– Kendall Willis with a time of 23:14.5
5k Male Winners: 1st– John Niendorf with a time of 17:34.3. 2nd– Matthew Gatlin with a time of 18:45.0. 3rd– John Bodensteiner with a time of 19:20.2
Half Marathon Female Winners: 1st– Dani Fischer with a time of 1:23:48.3. 2nd– Samantha Miller with a time of 1:31:15.7. 3rd– Elizabeth Lundine with a time of 1:33:14.6
Half Marathon Male Winners: 1st– Pol Nabben with a time of 1:13:20.5. 2nd– Nate Kennedy with a time of 1:14:59.7. 3rd– Paul Erickson with a time of 1:17:50.1
