Great Western Half Marathon & 10K

Sunday, May 7, 2023 • St. Charles, IL • Course Map

Set to mark its 26th annual running — and its 15th annual running with the 13.1-mile half marathon distance — in the late spring, the Great Western Half Marathon takes runners on a USATF-certified out-and-back course along the local trail that shares the same name, St. Charles’s Great Western Trail.

Mostly flat, and with a mixture of paved surfaces and crushed limestone, the course runs along what was once a railroad and features a panorama of views along the way, from developed residential and commercial areas to wide open fields, marshes and wetland areas.

Formerly a 30K road race, the Great Western was changed to a half-marathon in 2005 by the local running club that organizes it each year, the Fox River Trail Runners club.

The event’s start and finish line lies at St. Charles’s Leroy Oakes Forest Preserve, a 264-acre park that was once a working farm and now is home to plentiful hiking, biking and horseback riding trails among its acres and acres of woods, wetlands and prairie lands.

After taking off from the starting line, runners follow the winding park road along the Great Western Trail, a mostly flat, asphalt course, with support stations and forest views along the way.

The race, which is run in part to benefit the Special Olympics, is open to a maximum of 1,200 entrants to ensure that the trail doesn’t get too crowded during the event and to allow every participant, volunteer and spectator an enjoyable race experience.

It’s also open to runners only, and they are expected to keep at least a 13-minute, 44-second pace in order to finish by the time the race course closes at 11:00 AM.

A stretch of the Great Western Trail in Kane County, Illinois. (Photo by Ryan Afflerbaugh/flickr)

Race Weather & Climate

Nestled in the outer metro area suburbs almost due west of downtown Chicago, St. Charles enjoys early spring weather that tends to be mild to moderately cool and sometimes quite chilly in May, a month that has brought record temperatures here as low as 28 degrees (in 2004) and as high as 92 degrees (in 2006).

May 7 average low temp: 46ºF
May 7 average high temp: 63ºF

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Great Western Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

7:15 AM

Fees

$80 and up – half marathon
$50 and up – 10K

Registration

To reserve your spot in the late spring 2023 running of St. Charles’s Great Western Half Marathon, register online at RaceRoster.com here.

Official Race Website

www.foxrivertrailrunners.org

Comments

Ever run in the Great Western Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.

See more races in: May, Illinois

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