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Peoria Steamboat Classic to host their 51st race kicking off Father's Day weekend
PEORIA, Ill (WMBD) — Peoria's Steamboat Classic, one of the world's fastest four-mile races, returns to Peoria for its 51st year.
Runners have been picking up their packets, shirts and bibs on Thursday and Friday, preparing for the event happening this Saturday, Father's Day weekend.
'It's a great way to kick off Father's Day weekend,' said Brad Penz, co-owner of Shazam Racing. 'This is a huge deal to bring the community together just for the, you know, being healthy, being active, doing something.'
This year's event is their most ambitious event yet, with the addition of a few championship races for the first time. This addition is expected to bring in some bigger names in running.
'We do have, for the first time ever, the USATF 4-mile championships. So, some potential Olympians will be racing, men and women, for the US championships for four miles,' Penz said.
Steamboat wanted to do something bigger for this year's race, building hype for the event all year round.
'We needed to try to do something new and so the year-round presence was just something that hadn't been done before,' he said. 'It helps really build the traction of what's happening and build the momentum into the event and then keeping that going after the event's over as well.'
This year's race is expected to have around 2,500 people racing, with around 1,500 coming to support the racers. The event will conclude with a post-race party taking place at the finish line of the race, with an awards ceremony following that.
Registration for this event closed on June 13 at 8 p.m. For more information about the schedule of events, visit their website.
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