As Belleville Marathon grows, so does the need for volunteers. Here’s how to help
Organizers of the Belleville Main Street Marathon and Half Marathon have put out a request for volunteers to help on race day as registrations have increased by 27 percent compared to last year.
The ninth edition of the marathon will start at 7 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27.
If you are driving around town that morning, race organizers urge you to be on the lookout for runners.
To sign up as a volunteer, go to bellevillemarathon.com.
As of Thursday, 825 people had registered to run in the two races, with 601 for the half marathon of 13.1 miles and 224 for the full marathon of 26.2 miles. This compares to 650 who registered for the races last year.
Runners from Oregon and Washington state in the West and Connecticut and Florida in the East have registered with a total of 25 states represented. “We’re just very pleased about the growth,” said Sarah West, a co-director of the race.
West, who serves as co-director with Mike Toolen of Toolen’s Running Start in Shiloh, said they are excited to see runners who are just happy to finish the course as well as those who run fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
“We always look forward to race day and meeting the runners who registered … and watching people meet their goals and crush their goals,” West said.
The marathon needs about 300 volunteers and organizers are still looking to fill about 25 positions.
“Every year, we are blown away by being able to count on the community to fill those 300 volunteer spots, especially since our event is right after Oktoberfest, which also requires many volunteers,” West said in a news release. “We are really fortunate to be in a community with that kind of support for local events.”
The nonprofit event is organized by the Belleville Running Club and Toolen’s Running Start. With proceeds from last year’s race, the organizers were able to donate $15,000 to local groups. The Community Interfaith Food Pantry in Belleville, the Belleville Parks and Recreation Department, and a new college scholarship fund being created by the Belleville Running Club for Belleville high school runners each received $5,000.
The marathon begins downtown on West Main Street near First Street.
The route proceeds down West Main to 95th Street and includes portions of North Belt West, North 45th Street, North 28th Street, Penrose Drive, Catawba Avenue, North 13th Street and North Sixth Street.
The half marathon route follows streets while those competing in the full marathon will also use bike trails near Southwestern Illinois College.
The routes can be found at:
Half marathon: https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/5210526790
Full marathon: https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/5014871230
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 6:00 AM.