Less than two weeks ago the 2011 Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon was in danger of being cancelled for lack of volunteers, but now the marathon is back on track, trying to fill the last of the volunteer positions.
The Illinois Marathon, set to take place April 29 and 30, needed 250 volunteers two weeks ago. Christie Clinic and event officials reached out to the community and as of Tuesday morning, 24 course team volunteer spots remain and only 15 more volunteer spots need to be filled.
Christie Clinic Media Coordinator Marsha Osterbur is confident that the remaining positions will be taken.
“We’re in good shape,” she said. “We’ll be whittling away at those numbers all this week…the community has just come to the rescue again.”
Osterbur said there are around 3,000 total volunteers needed for the event, which includes a marathon, half-marathon, marathon relay, 10K run, 5K run and youth run spread out through the two days.
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Course Team volunteers help keep runners on track and work with law enforcement to keep traffic out of the way of runners. Osterbur said these volunteers are critical for maintaining a safe race.
Other volunteer postions include parking, clean-up, transportation and crowd control.
Osterbur encourages community members and UI students to sign up to volunteer before next week when volunteer training starts. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old. All volunteers receive an official Team shirt and drawstring backpack.
To volunteer, go to illinoismarathon.com and click on the volunteer tab.
