CHAMPAIGN, IL - The TIU Cross Country Team joined more than 20,000 runners at the University of Illinois Marathon and Half-Marathon even in Champaign, IL, April 27-28.

The weather was nice for distance running, with temperatures between the forty's and fifty's Fahrenheit. TIU's Brad Gillaspie ran in the event's first race, the 5k, on Friday evening April 27. He dealt with a large field and got off to a fast start, finishing with a time of 20:40 (6:40/mile pace). The next day featured the 13.1 mile half-marathon, in which three additional TIU runners participated. Titus Lotz ran 1:24:42 (6:28/mile), Lisa Speckhard came across in 1:40:05 (7:39/mile), and Alex Breeden completed the half marathon in 1:52:50 (8:37/mile). "It was a great atmosphere in which to cap off our Spring training cycle," said coach Tingley, who has been pleased with his runners' efforts throughout the long Winter/Spring of training. "Every step counts in preparation to run cross country, whether it's Autumn or not!" he commented.