Runners in last year's March Madness Half Marathon in Cary (click to enlarge)

The Hillsrtiders Run Club will hold its 32nd March Madness Half Marathon next Sunday at Cary-Grove High School. It took five hours to sell the 1,000 spots.

The group’s press release is below:

On Sunday, March 21st, the local Hillstriders Run Club will host the 32nd March Madness Half Marathon (13.1 miles) at the Cary Grove High School. This race has become very popular in the Chicagoland race circuit. The 1,000 entries for this year’s event were sold out within 5 hours.

The course is renowned for its hills. The March Madness Half Marathon Course has been dubbed the most challenging in Northern Illinois and an excellent training race for spring marathons.

Proceeds from this race fund the Hillstriders Distance Running Scholarship. To honor a former member and President, Fritz Kaufman, this scholarship is for McHenry County, High School, Senior distance runners.

Four $2,000 awards will provided this year. These scholarships are awarded based on the best essay on how running has influenced and changed their young lives. Officers of the club, local educators and representatives of the press judge the entries. Scholarship applications have been sent to all McHenry County High School running coaches and can be found on the club’s web site; www.Hillstriders.com.

The Hillstriders Running Club was founded roughly 30 years ago. The Club consists of nearly 100 members, runners from around the McHenry County area. Members come from all levels of running experience and are committed to sharing their joy in running.