Runners to see more, stink less

Participants in Sunday’s 30th annual Coeur d’Alene Marathon won’t have to wait until they get home to wash 26.2 miles worth of sweat off their bodies.

For the first time, locker rooms and showers at North Idaho College are being opened for runners. Race organizers have made other changes for this year’s event, including revamping the course to take advantage of local scenery and adding a Health and Fitness Expo.

Race Director Hugo Lecomte said the marathon committee fielded a few complaints about the course, which went through residential areas of town and required runners to cross several intersections.

Lecomte said there were a lot of compliments, though, about the most scenic parts of the route along Lake Coeur d’Alene, so the committee decided to change the course.

The race starts and ends at NIC, with marathon runners completing two loops of the course. Each 13.1-mile loop circles the campus on Rosenberry Drive, takes runners through City Park, onto Front Street, south on Eighth Street, east on Mullan and to the Centennial Trail, following the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

“I truly believe it’s one of the most scenic marathon courses in the Northwest,” Lecomte said.

A half marathon and 5K Fun Run are also planned for Sunday – all starting at NIC.

The Fun Run is a fundraiser for TESH Inc., a nonprofit service provider for adults and children with developmental disabilities.

The races are also a fundraiser for the Centennial Trail Foundation to maintain and extend the Idaho portion of the trail, which stretches 23 miles from the Washington state line to Higgens Point on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Traffic will be restricted to one lane in some areas and some streets along the route will be closed from 5 a.m. to noon Sunday.

More than 1,900 runners are expected to participate in Sunday’s race, according to marathon committee member Chris Copstead.

Last year’s competitors came from 23 countries, he said.