The 46th annual Steamboat Festival kicked off Thursday on the Peoria Riverfront.
Events related to the 44th Steamboat Classic run kicked off Thursday night with an elite clinic. East Peoria native Jenelle Deatherage is co-chairing coordination of the Elite Athletes for this year’s race.
Deatherage says they added the clinic this year to offer more community connection to the elite runners. “We thought that if we were going to field an elite field, we want to make sure that we are letting the public know and we’re providing an opportunity for the local community to see the athletes we are bringing into town. She says it’s equally important to provide an “opportunity for the athletes to see what our city’s like.”
The Steamboat Classic is considered the World’s Fastest 4-miles, offering a flat course surface that appeals to many elite runners. Philip Lockwood is the Steamboat Classic race director. He says about 3,200 runners are expected to participate in the road race, that’s truly a community event.
Lockwood says, “Peoria has a wonderful spirit of volunteerism. Our event is a 100% volunteer-run event and organization. Part of it is for us, we have a lot of people who may not run, but are very involved in running.”
Three-time Burundi Olympian Diane Nukuri was the featured speaker of the first elite clinic Thursday night.
The 44th annual Steamboat Classic 4-mile and 15-kilometer races kick-off at 7:00 a.m. Saturday on Main Street near Adams.