Moonlight Marathon at Oak Ridge Cemetery
Looking for something different?
How about running through an historic, century old cemetery at night on a fully supported, closed road course that you can run solo or with your friends and family and with the goal of finishing your adventure closest to midnight.
The evening of May 3rd 2014 will be the inaugural running of the Moonlight Marathon at Oak Ridge Cemetery. On that night, you will have the option to run a full marathon, marathon relay, 6.55 mile or 5k courses under a crescent moon and in the shadow of Lincoln’s Tomb.
While final details are being worked out, organizers want to let the public know about this exciting, first ever event occurring in 2014, 2015 and beyond.
Runners embark on their adventure from the lagoon bridge near the Lincoln Park Pavilion after 5:45 p.m. and enter the cemetery through the currently closed Original Entrance on 3rd Street where almost 150 years ago President Lincoln’s body passed en route to his final resting place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Participants will then navigate the course while passing through the beautiful yet haunting statuary and among the astounding history of the nation’s second most visited cemetery. Racers must wind their way back to the finish/exchange area using the moon, a headlamp, a flashlight, route reflectors and course volunteers.
While the 5k and 6.55-mile racers start at 5:45pm and run the courses for the fastest time, the full marathon and marathon relay runners can choose to begin any time after 6pm with the goal of finishing closest to midnight but without the use of any GPS, phone or timing device.
These unique night time road runs are being hosted as a fundraiser for the Oak Ridge Cemetery Foundation to renovate the “Original Entrance and Gates “ on 3rd Street and to provide a never before chance to run at night in the cemetery in a controlled, safe environment with safety and race personnel on site.
On-line registration is open at the website www.triharderpromotions.com.
Stuff We All Get (SWAG)
So Far……
Each participant in the 5k fun/run receives on-course support, a gender specific race shirt and food and drink in the Lincoln Park Pavilion after the race with live music.
All 6.55 mile, Marathon Relay (up to 4 runners) and Marathon participants will each receive on-course support, a gender specific race shirt and food and drink in the Lincoln Park Pavilion after the race with live music and a Finisher Medal.
The Moonlight Marathon Course is a chip timed 6.55 mile loop (4 loops) lined with reflectors and cones to guide you along the roads of Oak Ridge Cemetery. The course will open at 6pm for individuals and relay teams with a finish goal of 12 midnight. The latest time a runner can begin the marathon is 9pm. PLEASE NOTE: As this is a loop course, no participant will be allowed to start a new loop after 11:20pm.
Beware: this may be the most challenging marathon course in the nation! But, take whatever time you need to cover the distance because your time on this race does not matter! Slower runners and even walkers have a chance of winning this event because all that matters is finishing closest to midnight without going over. The majority of the race is on paved roads that wind, meander, climb and descend in one of the most beautiful venues you can imagine. However, please keep in mind that runners will be immersed in total darkness with only their headlamp, course reflectors, cones and volunteers to guide them through the cemetery. The only traffic on the course will be course monitors and bike safety patrol.
Prediction Marathon/Relay
Marathon participants choose their own starting time based on the predicted pace with a finish time goal of midnight on May 3rd. Teams of 2,3 or 4 people choose their own starting time based on the predicted pace with a finish of midnight. The course will be open at 6pm for individuals and relay teams but the latest time a relay or marathoner can begin is 9:30pm. Relay participants will run with a baton containing the timing chip, which will be handed to the next runner at the lagoon bridge exchange area. The loss of the baton means no time is recorded.
The course closes at 1:00am and anyone still on the course at that time will be escorted back to the finish area. If a marathoner or relay member has not started their last loop by 11:20pm, they will be stopped from starting it.
6.55 mile and 5k Fun/Run Walkers and Runners
The 6.55 mile race is one loop of the marathon course and is chip timed. The 5k course consists of a flat route that is beginner friendly; it is not chip timed. For safety reasons, any walkers are asked to line up behind the runners.
PLEASE NOTE: All kids under the age of 12 are free to participate in the 5k but if they do not pay they will not receive a bib, shirt or post race meal. However, food and drink can be purchased at the park pavilion.
The Course
| “On May 14, 1856, an ordinance was passed forbidding the further establishment of burying grounds within the city of Springfield. A tract of land containing twenty-eight and one half acres, lying two miles north of the Capitol, was purchased by the City, for the establishment of a Cemetery, adequate to the necessities of the growing city, and sufficiently remote from the business center and every – day life to render a fitting abode to the dead.” (Oak Ridge Cemetery Records) | |
| Since 1865, the cemetery has grown to be the largest Municipal cemetery in the state of Illinois, encompassing 365 acres of beautiful rolling prairie land, thousands of hardwoods and conifers, and over 75,000 interments. Oak Ridge Cemetery has the distinction of being the second most visited cemetery in the nation, second only to Arlington National Cemetery. Almost one million visitors enter these gates annually not only to pay respects to their deceased families and ancestors, but to also visit the final resting place and pay homage to our distinguished sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln. However, none of them have the opportunity to visit the cemetery at night… |
Awards:
Overall Awards will be given to the top 3 male and female individuals and teams in the marathon and relay to those finishing closest to – but not after – midnight. A finishers medal will be provided to all those in the Marathon, Marathon Relay and 6.55 mile run. The top 3 male and female finishers in the 6.55 mile run will receive Overall Awards. No medals will be provided for the 5k participants.
Contact:
Email triharderpromotions@gmail.com with any additional questions. Bring chairs, pop up tents and games to set up near the lagoon to pass the time and serve as your headquarters and cheering station during the race.
|
||||||