Large crowd signed up for 2022 Steamboat Classic

PEORIA (25 News Now) - Despite a few supply chain issues, the Steamboat Classic returns to the River City Saturday morning.

Around 1700 people are expected to take part, and organizers are bringing back the 15k run for the first time since 2019.

Planning for this year, however, wasn’t easy - organizers say they had to order t-shirts and medals way in advance, and high gas prices mean fewer people are traveling long distances to take part.

These issues are also causing smaller races to cancel completely.

“Once we get to about 1500 participants, we are breaking even,” managing director Philip Lockwood said. “Those events that are under 500 have a difficult time even contemplating conducting the event.”

The race kicks off at 7:05 a.m. Saturday near the riverfront, and 7:25 is when the four-mile run/walk starts.

There will be plenty of free water stations for participants to access too.