Healthy Driven Naperville Half Marathon and 5K
Runners took off at the Healthy Driven Naperville Half Marathon and 5K.
2,400 half marathoners made their 13.1 mile-trek through Downtown Naperville, as the 1,500 5K runners followed shortly after.
“It’s a really nice sized race where you’re not elbow to elbow and packed in, but there’s always someone in front to follow or to chase or people next to you to talk. So, it really works out nice,” said Race Director Craig Bixler.
Charity Groups
Many of the runners were part of a charity group, a total of 11 participating this year.
If you spotted a sea of blue shirts, that was District 203’s Naperville Education Foundation.
“We have our headquarters at Naperville Central and seeing those 487 runners come together to celebrate the training that they’ve done, the fundraising that they’ve done – it’s a huge accomplishment for them and it’s just great to see the excitement on their faces,” said Wendy Goettsch from NEF.
And District 204’s Indian Prairie Educational Foundation was easily spotted by their bright yellow shirts.
“We have alumni coming back to run, parents, community members, teachers, our superintendent Karen Sullivan’s running. Every member of our school board is participating. So we love that mix of people, once again bringing everybody together and community,” said IPEF’s Elisha Johnson.
One group, the Path to Recovery Foundation, came together after a personal loss.
“I lost my brother a little over three years ago to a heroine overdose. And so since then this will be the third year in a row, raising money for a foundation to raise awareness and funds for those struggling with addiction,” said Cliff Kalish.
Different groups, all running toward one goal.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
