Through our annual Cause for Celebration, The Steamboat Classic Presented by PNC celebrates the countless impressive feats of athleticism in the sport of running. This week we are proud to introduce Joan Benoit Samuelson, a true epitome of vigor and competitiveness throughout a lifespan.

Joan was a marathon connoisseur known for constantly raising the bar. In her senior year of track and cross country at Bowdoin College, she won the 1979 Boston Marathon in 2:35:15, setting a new American record. Four years later, she returned to Boston and smashed the world record by 2 minutes, coming in at 2:22:43.

The next year she sent a message to the running world when she won the 1984 inaugural women’s Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles in stunning fashion. Only five miles into the race, she made a bold move and broke away from the pack, running solo for the remainder of the race and cementing herself in history.

Former Peoria Notre Dame cross country star Caitlin Comfort rose to top of the leaderboards her very first season and stayed there, placing Top 10 all four years in the Illinois AA State Championships (and winning as a junior in 2006). In 2007, she came in second and was named the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year.

Caitlin’s high school success earned her a spot on Wisconsin's team, where she became a two-time Big Ten champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter events. Upon graduation, she began coaching track and cross country at Wisconsin while continuing to run professionally, transitioning to the half and full marathon distance and in 2018 qualifying for her second Olympic Trials Marathon.

Caitlin now helps folks of all abilities to reach their running and racing goals through her coaching business, Fearless Feet Running, based in Wisconsin. This empowering success story is a testament to the strength of athletic programs in our community and the natural talent and work ethic of the women who call Peoria home...a true Cause for Celebration. Cheers to Caitlin!

Stay tuned to learn more about inspirational women in running this year. Cheers to Girls & Women in Sports!

Sydney McLaughlin Levrone, world record holder in the 400 meter hurdles, is a true Cause for Celebration this week (and always).

Levrone seemed destined for the big stage. Her father was a semifinalist in the 400 meter Olympic Trials, her mother was a 2:12 half-miler, and both of her older siblings ran in college. At 14 years old, her father said, “All of our kids are talented, but she’s a little special when it comes to running. We saw it coming. It was just a matter of time”.

As a freshman in high school she had the record for the fastest 400 meter hurdles time in the world among 14 year olds; two years later she qualified for the U.S. Olympic track team. She then went on to run for Kentucky, breaking the collegiate 400 meter hurdle record in her first year before signing a deal with New Balance and turning pro.

As an Olympian, she has continued to dominate, winning four gold medals and breaking the women's world record in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 50.37 seconds.

We are in awe of the talent runners like Levrone possess and their grace in accomplishing amazing feats. Cheers to Sydney and all levels of Triumphs of Women in Running!

Meet 1993 Illinois State Cross Country Champion Jenelle Deatherage of East Peoria! Before Jenelle, East Peoria hadn’t seen a state championship in any sport since 1952 (for over 40 years). But in 1993, East Peoria dominated the high school running scene as Deatherage won for the women and her classmate, Time Broe, won for men (the first boy and girl runners from the same school to ever accomplish that feat). She then had resounding success her senior year when she was crowned 1600 meter state champion.

Graduating with a full scholarship to the University of Wisconsin, Jenelle's accolades continued with three Big Ten Conference titles and four All-American titles. Jenelle was also named the 1999 Big Ten Track and Field Athlete of the Year and the 1999 University of Wisconsin Female Athlete of the Year, and she earned a spot on the U.S. team for the 1999 World University Games in the 1500. By the time Jenelle finished her career at Wisconsin, she had been named five times Big Ten Academics in Track and Cross Country.

After college Jenelle ran for the Wisconsin Runner Racing Team and Team U.S.A. Minnesota. Among her career highlights, third place at the 2003 USA 5K indoor championships, fourth place at the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials in the 1500 (coming in at a speedy 4:07), second place at the Drake Relays, first place at the 2005 Wise Track Club Capitol Mile (4:38), second place at the Reebok Boston Indoor mile (4:32), and second place at the 2008 USA Indoor 5K Championships. Back in her hometown a decade later, she won the Steamboat Classic 4 Mile for women in 2018.

She now uses her BA in Kinesiology and master's in physical therapy to serve fellow athletes as a physical therapist in the Minneapolis area.

Jenelle's story is a gleaming example of discipline and commitment, and the SC415 Presented by PNC is honored to highlight this inspiring hometown hero! Her triumphs in running are truly Cause for Celebration.

Meet 100-meter hurdle master and three-time Olympic champion Gail Devers. On her journey to the pinnacle of stardom, Devers overcame hurdles on and off the track, a true champion and Cause for Celebration of Triumphs of Women in Running this week

Gail emerged from high school as a promising talent and was training for the 1988 Summer Olympics when she began experiencing health issues. Her hair began falling out, her signature long nails started breaking and wouldn’t grow back, and she lost weight. This launched a two-year journey of countless doctor visits before finally discovering these were the symptoms of Graves disease, an autoimmune disorder. Devers, focused on getting to the Olympics, underwent radiation treatment that left her with blisters and swelling in her feet so agonizing she could barely walk.

Dever’s attitude toward her recovery was everything.

“In my race there's 10 hurdles, but in life, there is always a hurdle. Sometimes we fall, sometimes we stumble, but we can’t stay down. We can’t allow life to beat us down. Everything happens for a reason, and it builds character in us, and it tells us what we are about and how strong we really are when we didn’t think we could be that strong.”

She turned what started as a setback into a comeback: one that would rival the greatest come-from-behind victories ever seen in sports. She won gold in the 100 Meter just two years later in ‘92 and again in ‘96, when she also won gold in the 4x100m relay.

The incredible perseverance of strong women like Devers is what motivates SC415 Presented by PNC to continue telling these stories, and it inspires all athletes and individuals to overcome their own obstacles. Cheers to Gail!

Among the most dominant female runners to emerge from the River City, Suzie Tuffy rises to the spotlight for this week’s Triumphs of Women in Running as part of the SC415 2025 Cause for Celebration Presented by PNC.

Her name says it all: Tuffy’s legacy is a tough run, impossible to beat, and relentless in the face of injury and adversity. Running for Bergan High School in the 80s (before it was consolidated into Peoria Notre Dame), Tuffy boasted a 4:46 Mile and a national record at the time of a 10:13 2 Mile!

She went on to run at North Carolina State, where she immediately won the NCAA cross country championship her freshman year. She raced locally as well, winning our very own 4 Mile Steamboat Classic in 1984 with a blazing 21:31.

Greater Peoria is proud to be home to national championship caliber runners like Tuffy. Thank you for joining us in honoring her triumphs!

This week we celebrate the inspiring story of Katherine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor. As you can see here, her historic run didn’t happen without pushback…literally.

In 1967, women were not allowed to compete in the esteemed Boston Marathon because of the AAU, who governed the race. Switzer had to enter stealthily.

A male friend picked up her race packet and she wore a hooded sweatshirt during the race to hide her long hair. She also signed her race registration using her initials “K.V. Switzer” to further hide the fact that she was a female competitor.

A cornerstone of the new SC415 Presented by PNC is our year-round Cause for Celebration. This year we are honored to be celebrating Triumphs of Women in Running!

The 2025 campaign is inspired by our very own Central Illinois native Bev Enslow, the only person to compete in all 50 Steamboat Classic races and a 3x women’s overall Steamboat winner in both the 4-Mile and 15K distances.

In celebration of National Girls & Women in Sports Day, The Steamboat Classic Presented by PNC is proud to announce the annual SC415 Cause for Celebration, a year-round campaign that will highlight accomplishments and triumphs in the sport of running.

The 2025 campaign will celebrate Women in Running by honoring Central Illinois native Beverly Enslow’s 50-year Steamboat Classic Run (and her impressive career as an elite athlete) and by featuring elite women athletes (including a special panel discussion focused on women in running during race week).