Illinois State University Homecoming Town and Gown 5K

About the Event

All registration will be done online. To save time, please complete your registration prior to arriving on site.

Get ready to raise the banner high at the Town and Gown Hybrid 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run/Walk as a part of Homecoming. The in-person race will take off at the Student Fitness Center at 8 a.m. and go through Uptown Normal and around campus. One water stop will be set on the course, and refreshments, courtesy of the Town of Normal, will be available afterward for all run/walk participants. Check out the course to get ready to run.

The Office of Sustainability will be onsite with reusable water bottles and Zero Waste Crew to make this a zero-waste event. No pets, please. Strollers welcomed. Parking is available in the School Street Parking Garage off of Beaufort. Prizes will be awarded to overall male and female winners, overall male and female wheelchair racers, and overall non-binary racer. Additional awards for the top three male and female finishers in each age division: 14 & under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60 and over.

This year’s registration cost is $20 for all ages and races. Five dollars of each registration will support the Marian H. Dean Scholarship. Online registration is available until 7:45 a.m. on race day. To guarantee a shirt, racers must register by midnight on September 16.

Packet pick-up is Friday (day before the race) in the Kasten Room at the Alumni Center or Saturday (race day_ from 7–7:45 a.m. at the Student Fitness Center (347 S. University).

Virtual runners will receive a confirmation email in the following weeks after registering, including a bib to print, further instructions, and a link to submit race time. Shirts will be mailed. All participants are encouraged to run on race day sporting their Redbird gear, but you can finish anytime before the date.

Races Offered

1 Mile Fun Run/Walk (Untimed)

Oct 24, 2026

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Distance — 1 Miles

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Type — Running

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08:00

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$20.00

5K

Oct 24, 2026

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Distance — 3.1 Miles

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Type — Running

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08:00

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$20.00

5K - Virtual

Oct 24, 2026

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Distance — 3.1 Miles

terrain

Type — Running

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08:00

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$20.00

5K - Virtual WITHOUT t-shirt

Oct 24, 2026

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Distance — 5K - Virtual WITHOUT t-shirt

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Type — Running

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08:00

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$0.00

Weather History

These values represent the 3-year monthly averages for October in Normal.

thermostat Temperature

9.4° / 19.4°

wb_sunny Feels like

5.8° / 16.0°

light_mode Avg sunshine hours

8h 57m

water_drop Avg rainfall

1.6 mm

ac_unit Avg snowfall

—

air Avg wind speed

14.8 km/h (Gentle breeze)

opacity Sweat loss rate

Low

terrain Course conditions

Firm and slightly soft

sunny Max UV Index

Moderate (4.0)

humidity_mid Humidity

63.5%

wb_twilight Sunrise

07:08

nightlight Sunset

18:14

About Normal

Learn more about the host city, Normal.

Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 52,736 at the 2020 census. Normal is the smaller of two principal cities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and is Illinois' seventh most populous community outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is home to Illinois State University and Heartland Community College.