The Fox Valley Marathon will be held  from 7 a.m. to about 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, with a starting and end point in St. Charles. The race begins on the Illinois Street bridge, continues south to Aurora through Geneva, Batavia and North Aurora and returns to the finish line in St. Charles.

Several roadways in St. Charles will be affected by the marathon:

• 1^st Street between Illinois Street and Indiana Street will be closed beginning at 5 a.m. Saturday,  Sept. 17, for set up.
• Both the Prairie Street and Illinois Street bridges will be closed during the entire event on Sunday. Motorists are advised to use either the Main Street (IL Route 64) bridge or the Red Gate bridge.
• The race begins at 7 a.m. Sunday morning, traveling south on 1^st Street to Geneva Road (IL Route 31). Geneva Road will be reduced to one lane and then detoured to Anderson Boulevard in Geneva.
• As the runners return to St. Charles, now on the east side of the river, traffic on Riverside Avenue (IL Route 25) will be reduced to one lane between Moore Avenue and South 5^th Avenue.

Police and emergency management personnel will be positioned at key locations to assist with traffic direction. Motorists are advised to expect delays when traveling throughout the city. Police remind drivers to watch for runners, spectators and emergency responders assisting with the event.

The St. Charles Police Department asks that motorists do not drive distracted.

In addition, the CASA Kane County Fox Valley KIDS Marathon will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday Sept. 17. The Prairie Street Bridge will be temporarily closed at the start of that event, but the closure is expected to be less than 30 minutes.

SOURCE: St. Charles Police Department news release

Marathon Impacts Downtown Geneva Traffic

Several downtown Geneva streets will be closed to traffic early Sunday, Sept. 18, to accommodate the annual Fox Valley Marathon race course.

The marathon begins in St. Charles and heads south into Geneva, impacting downtown streets and main arterial roads between 7 and 9 a.m., including:

• Route 31 – Roosevelt Street in St. Charles to Third Street near the Kane County Government Center
• State Street (Route 38) – Route 25 to Fourth Street
• Third Street – State to Fulton streets (Fulton intersection partially closed)
• Stevens Street – First (Route 31) to Richards streets
• Richards Street – Stevens to Peyton streets; and
• Peyton Street – First to Richards streets

Geneva Detour Routes

Route 38 — The marked detour route for local drivers traveling eastbound on State Street will be turning south on Seventh Street, east on Fulton Street, south on Third Street, south on Route 31, east on Fabyan Parkway and north on Route 25. Westbound traffic will utilize the same route in reverse.

Route 31 — The marked detour route for local drivers heading southbound on Route 31 in St. Charles will be turning west on Roosevelt Street, south on Third Street (St. Charles)/Anderson Boulevard (Geneva), east on State Street, south on Seventh Street, east on Fulton Street, and south on Third Street. Northbound traffic will use the same route in reverse.

Alternate Route — Motorists who want to avoid the detours should take Route 25, Fabyan Parkway and Randall Road to travel through Geneva. Trucks should use this route and avoid the downtown if possible.

There will be numerous marathon officials and police officers providing traffic control, so please use caution when driving through the downtown. Officials will be available to assist motorists to and from their residence if they live within the designated race course.

For more information about the race, visit www.foxvalleymarathon.com.

SOURCE: city of Geneva news release