2025 Belleville Main Street Marathon and Half Marathon

Join us on Saturday, September 27, 2025, to run a portion of America's Longest Main Street using on our Half Marathon or our highly-rated Boston Marathon-Qualifying Full Marathon course! 

TIME: Both the full and half marathons will begin at 7 AM on Saturday, September 27, 2025. FULL MARATHON course support ends at 1:30 PM. HALF MARATHON course support ends at 10:30 AM.

COURSE: The full and half marathons will start and finish on Main Street near First Street in downtown Belleville, IL (close to 19 Public Square, Belleville 62220). The full marathon features a USTAF-certified course that qualifies for the Boston Marathon. The full marathon covers approximately 16 miles on city streets - including America's longest Main Street -  and around 10 miles on the paved biking and walking trail of the St. Clair County Transit District. The half marathon also runs through city streets, showcasing America's longest Main Street. Course maps can be found here.

COURSE SUPPORT AND TIME LIMITS:  Water and Gatorade stations will be available approximately every two miles along the course, with Gu energy gels provided at various locations: around mile 10 for the half marathon, and at miles 11.5, 18, and 23 for the full marathon. Porta-potties will be situated at the start/finish line area and near all water stations. Medical assistance will also be on hand. Full marathon participants need to reach mile 13 by 10 AM; otherwise, they will be transported by an official race vehicle to a different point on the course, allowing them to finish with an unofficial time and receive a finisher medal. Half marathon runners must reach mile 6.5 by 8:50 AM and complete the race by 10:30 AM to obtain an official race time. If any runners remain on the course after volunteers have been dismissed, the participants must move to the sidewalks and adhere to traffic laws for their safety.

MILE MARKERS AND COURSE MARKERS: To guide full marathon participants, green arrows will be displayed along the road and trail. For half marathon runners, yellow arrows will be marked on the roadway. The mile markers for both the full and half marathons will look the same (white and horizontally aligned) until the half marathon turnaround point on 95th Street. Beginning at mile 6.5 on 95th Street, half marathon mile markers will be labeled “Half Marathon,” feature a yellow background, and will be oriented vertically instead of horizontally. After mile 6.5, all horizontally positioned white mile markers will indicate the full marathon. A yellow feather flag on 95th Street will signify the turnaround for the half marathon.

RESULTS

NEW for 2025: Race results will be published live with on-course timing splits. Race results can be viewed on your phone or at on-site kiosks during the event. All participants will receive text notifications at all on-course splits and their finish time immediately upon crossing the timing mats. At the conclusion of the race, all finishers will receive an email of their official race results and a link to the results on Athlinks. All past and present race results can be found on Athlinks Results.

PACKET PICKUP

     FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 (note: there are 2 options at different times of the day)

• 10 AM to 5:00 PM Toolen’s Running Start, 3260 Green Mount Crossing Drive, Shiloh, IL 62269.
• 6:00 to 8:00 PM Bennie's Pizza Pub, 113 E. Main Street, Belleville, IL 62220.

     RACE DAY 

• 5:30 to 6:30 AM near the start line near Main Street and First Street.

FINISHER MEDALS/AWARDS

All race finishers will receive a medal at the finish line. Event shirts will be provided at packet pickup. Awards will be given to the Top 3 Overall Male and Female, Overall Male and Female Master’s (40+), Male and Female Wheelchair finishers and to the Top 3 Finishers in each of the following Male and Female age group categories: 18-19; 20-24; 25-29; 30-34; 35-39; 40-44; 45-49; 50-54; 55-59; 60-64; 65-69; and 70 & older. After crossing the finish line, visit the kiosks at the Results Tent to look up your race results to see if you placed in your age group. 

POST-RACE CELEBRATION

Our post-race celebration includes a variety of food, an exclusive beer brewed just for you by Shoehorn Brewing in downtown Belleville (for those 21 and older), and a DJ to pump you up and celebrate that awesome feeling of accomplishment.

PARKING

Complimentary and accessible parking is offered at various city-owned lots listed below, as well as curbside where permitted. Please do not park in business lots as many businesses are open Saturday.

• FREE parking garage at 1 Lincoln Street, which is a short walk to the start/finish line (RECOMMENDED). The garage will be monitored by county officials.
• Lot at corner of North High Street and East A Street (behind Lincoln Theatre)
• Lot at South Jackson and East Washington (behind Copper Fire)
• Lot at corner of North 3rd Street and West Main (across from Governor French school)

MAPS FOR RUNNERS AND SPECTATORS

Here are links to the maps for both the full and half marathons, which will provide you with a clearer view of each course. Feel free to share these with family and friends who plan to support you along the way.

Full Marathon Map

Half Marathon Map

Recommended Viewing Locations for Spectators

Half Marathon and First Half of the Full Marathon

• Catch both the half and full marathoners on their way out (at about mile 3) and on their way back (at about mile 11 for the full marathoners and at about mile or 10 for the half marathoners) at Geo's Wings & More  (4307 West Main Street, Belleville, IL).
• Catch both the half and full marathoners on their way out (at about mile 4) and on their way back (at about mile 10 for the full marathoners and at about mile 9 for the half marathoners) at Althoff Catholic High School (5401 West Main Street, Belleville, IL)

Second Half of the Full Marathon

• Catch the full marathoners on their way out (at about mile 15) and on their way back (at about mile 25) at North End Park (1099 North Douglas Avenue, Belleville, 62220).  If you plan to catch your runner on their way back, be advised that this is very close to the end so you may have trouble making it back to see them at the finish line.
• Catch the full marathoners on their way out and way back at the MetroLink College Station at Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) (2622 Carlyle Avenue, Belleville, IL 62221) or near the marathon turnaround at the Belleville East YMCA (2627 Carlyle Avenue, Belleville, IL 62221) (these are in the mile 20 to 21 range).

RACE DAY PHOTOS

Rutster Photography will be capturing professional race-day photographs, which will be available to download for FREE at the company's Belleville Main Street Marathon gallery (click here).

POST-RACE LOCKER ROOMS/SHOWERS

The Downtown Belleville YMCA located at 200 S. Illinois St. - just a few blocks from the finish line - provides runners access to its showers and locker rooms. You will need to provide a state issued ID and must complete a waiver to benefit from this service.  Waivers will be available during packet pickup and on race day.

THE STREAKER AWARD

Participants who ran EACH of the 8 past in-person Belleville Main Street Marathons (2016-2019, 2021-2024) will be recognized with our commemorative Streaker Award. Please ask for your award at packet pickup.

EVENT MEDICAL SUPPORT

BJC HealthCare Memorial Hospital staff and other medical officials will be prepared to treat injuries that may occur during this event, including a medical tent and personnel at the start/finish line area and medical staff on the course.

RACE ORGANIZERS

Belleville Running Club and Toolen's Running Start

FOR MORE INFO: For specific questions, e-mail info@bellevillemarathon.com or contact Toolen’s Running Start at 618-628-9898 or www.runningstartsports.com.