1978 was "the year of the runner." Our national estimate of joggers is in excess of ten million men, women, and children of all ages. That number is probably closer to 20 million now. This fantastic growth and interest in the sport has resulted in many cities, towns and villages across the country sponsoring foot races of all distances.

On June 3, 1978, the Champaign Park District and Urbana Park District with the cooperation of the University of Illinois Athletic Association, several local running and jogging clubs, and the two-city and university police departments, sponsored a 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) run through the two communities of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. The twin cities engulf the University of Illinois, and when school is in session, boasts a population of more than 140,000.

The enthusiasm in the community toward jogging and running is quite high and interest in University of Illinois track and field has never been higher. Sponsoring a community run seemed the natural thing to do and offered an opportunity for the two park districts to work together as we so often do.

Many months of planning went into promoting our first Champaign-Urbana Parks Classic. The date we chose to have the race was very carefully selected. The reason for selecting the first Saturday in June was because the first Saturday in June, 1979 was to be the date that the University of Illinois hosted the NCAA track and field championships in Champaign-Urbana. The second Champaign-Urbana Parks Classic will be held on Saturday, June 2, 1979 at 8:00 a.m. — the morning of the NCAA finals.

We hope to draw some of the finest runners in the country who are not able to compete in the NCAA but who will be attending this two-day event anyway. The overall majority of the entrants will consist of the novice and the daily Jogger.

The race will begin and finish at the site of the NCAA event and will take its runners through and around some of Champaign-Urbana's 49 beautiful parks.

We are looking forward to seeing you on June 2nd! For more information please write to: Champaign-Urbana Park Classic, Urbana Park District, 101 North McCullough, Urbana, Illinois 61801.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 12 May/June, 1979