2017 Illinois Marathon Brings Winners, Good Weather, Marriage Proposal
The finish line of the Illinois Marathon on Saturday morning. Brian Moline/Illinois Public Media
After two years of challenging weather, runners in Saturday's 2017 Illinois Marathon finally got a break. Conditions were dry with temperatures in the mid-40s, though wind gusts topped 20 mph.
Organizers say this year's events included more than 17,000 people.
Here is a list of the top finishers in Friday and Saturday's events based on preliminary times from IllinoisMarathon.com:
| Teferi Bacha Regasa | 2:22:18 | Morristown, NJ | Marathon, Male |
| Rachael Brewer | 2:47:26 | Tuscola, IL | Marathon, Female |
| Sammy Rotich | 1:04:37 | West Des Moines, IA | Half Marathon, Male |
| Julia Kohnen | 1:16:31 | Florissant, MO | Half Marathon, Female |
| Christian Clemmons | 0:58:42 | Champaign, IL | Half Marathon, Wheelchair, Male |
| Jenna Fesemyer | 1:06:17 | Ravenna, OH | Half Marathon, Wheelchair, Female |
| Matt Hazel | 0:32:11 | Champaign, IL | 10K, Male |
| Erika Holroyd | 0:39:10 | St. Louis, MO | 10K, Female |
| Brennan Guido | 0:16:33 | St. Joseph, IL | 5K, Male |
| Jessica Franklin | 0:19:25 | Mahomet, IL | 5K, Female |
Last year's top finisher in the full marathon crossed the finish line in 2:20:53.
In addition to the top finishers above, there was also a marriage proposal at the finish line on Saturday morning. She said, "yes."