Registration for the Naperville Marathon, and Half-Marathon, begins at 6AM Monday, January 28. The chip-timed race will begin at 7AM Sunday, November 10.
Racers can register at 
naperville26.com/register/index.htm and the cost is $105 for the Marathon and $85 for the Half-Marathon through the end of February. The cost increases in March and again in April. Registration includes a race shirt and commemorative medal.
The race will be held throughout Naperville, Lisle, Plainfield and Bolingbrook, and will also be a certified qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.
Limited to 3,500 runners, the race will be an intimate-alternative to the internationally traveled 45,000 participant Chicago Marathon.
“The Chicago’s Marathon can become congested and can be expensive,” said race director Bob Hackett. “The (Naperville Marathon) will feel like a large race with a small town feel.”
With as many 45,000 runners, it can take an hour or two to cross the start line at large marathons, especially the New York City Marathon, where runners begin in Staten Island crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
The Naperville Marathon intends to minimize congestion. At one-tenth the participants of the Chicago Marathon, the Naperville Marathon will offer runners an enjoyable experience and a relative quick start time.
The course is still being finalized, pending approval by local officials, and will most likely start and finish near downtown Naperville and North Central College. The Midwestern course will be flat and fast.
Tentatively, the course is planned to wind through many of the area parks, trails and forest preserves. “Naperville is a great running community. The parks, trails and roads are second to none,” said Hackett.
The Marathon will also benefit local charities. Local nonprofit organizations and volunteers looking to be part of the Naperville Marathon Charity Program are encouraged to e-mail charities@naperville26.com.
