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Community Corner

First Midwest Bank Southwest Half Marathon Set to Go with Record Numbers

The half marathon was named top race for 2011 by CARA. Sunday's event will be preceded by the Palos Area Chamber of Commerce Health Fair & Expo on Saturday.

If long-distance running is a test of courage, then the Palos area has plenty of it, and rising.

At 2,000 runners and with registration officially closed, this Sunday’s First Midwest Bank Southwest Half Marathon is one of the largest of its kind around Chicago.

Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) has named it the “Runners Choice” Circuit Race for 2011—a prestigious award in the runners' community that requires firsthand evaluation by CARA staff, acknowledgement from USA Track & Field and sparkling feedback from previous participants.

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But when the event’s lead sponsor, Palos Bank and Trust, collapsed last year, there was doubt the half marathon would survive. Palos Heights Alderman Jeff Prestinario, who co-chaired the event committee, said he and other organizers offered First Midwest “platinum sponsorship” while they wracked their brains about what to do if the new bank turned it down.

Fortunately, First Midwest went all in. Even some of its executives, including Regional President Michael Leonard and Banking Center President Greg Paetow, are registered to run and then speak after the event, Prestinario said.

Find out what's happening in Paloswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mel Diab, an event organizer and owner of , expects 2,500 runners next year.

“We believe the course can take up to three or four thousand runners and we want to increase it not more than 30 percent at a time,” he said.

The 13.1-mile race begins on Route 83 outside Palos Heights City Hall at 7:30 a.m. and weaves west and then back east through forest paths and flat payments. Much of Cal Sag Road will be closed from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., and officials encourage drivers to plan alternate routes during the event.

Walk, Run or Roll, a half-mile race coordinated by the South West Special Recreation Association (SWSRA) for children with special needs, begins on the main course 15 minutes after half marathon runners leave the starting line. Registration for this event is open until the day of the race.

Medical tents will be provided by Loyola University Medical School.

Those left with energy to stand can enjoy rock music, speeches, food and refreshments—because nothing cures achy joints like ice cold beer—after the race. At that point, cash prizes will be awarded to the half marathon’s top five age groups. The top male and female finishers receive $1,000 apiece.

The previous three half marathons reportedly raised more than $50,000 for charity and helped earned the Palos area successive Governors Home Town Awards. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the American Cancer Society for Prostate Cancer and Research, SWSRA and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. Come Sunday, the half marathon will have raised about $100,000 for “worthy causes,” Diab said. The fee to enter the race was $55.

Most runners take anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours to finish. Elite runners, many of whom hail from Morocco and Kenya, tend to need only one hour.

More information regarding the course, charities, sponsors and travel can be found on the event website. A grant from the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau helped pay for advertising, Diab said.

For better accuracy, race results will be determined by chip timing. Runners have been asked to pick up their chip, shirt and goody bag at the Palos Area Chamber of Commerce Health Fair & Expo, which begins Saturday at at 10 a.m. This five-hour free event will feature 62 vendors ranging from doctors to—you guessed it—bankers. Some tables will pass out information while others will offer souvenirs and demonstrations

Palos Patch has reserved a table at the Expo and will be shooting footage at the half marathon on Sunday.

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