Small Illinois town hosts world-class runners: Chicagoans take on Tunnel Hill Ultramarathon

CHICAGO (WGN) — The sun rose over Lake Michigan as Joe Goodkin, 48, shuffled along the shoreline.

“I really like who I am when I’m running,” he said.

Goodkin, who majored in classics at the University of Wisconsin, is on a journey of self-discovery that echoes the epic adventure of Greek hero Odysseus.

“Odysseus as the hero is this guy who has to endure a lot to get to his goal,” Goodkin said.

Now a full-time musician, he’s traveled the world presenting his own songs inspired by the epic poems of Homer.  

“My odyssey is both the story and my own journey through telling the story,” Goodkin said.

His odyssey plays out on running paths in the punishing sport of ultra endurance running.

“The more I got into ultra running and ultra-endurance events,” he said, “I felt like the experience that I was going through, trying to get home, trying to get to the finish line, these two things were informing one another.”

Now he’s preparing for his first 100-mile race.

“I’m training for the Tunnel Hill 100,” he said.

The Tunnel Hill Ultra is a series of races including 100-mile and 50-mile courses that run through a historic railroad tunnel in Vienna, Illinois, 340 miles south of Chicago.

“The tunnel is about 600 feet long,” said Steve Durbin, the race director. “It’s not lighted. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s kind of the main feature of the whole race – running through the tunnel. It’s pretty cool.”

Durbin said the Tunnel Hill races are run on some of the flattest terrain of any ultra.

“We’ve got three world records set here,” Durbin said.

The path is flat, smooth and gentle. It mainly consists of crushed limestone, unlike other ultra courses with technical terrain like mountains, rocks and roots.

Charlie Lawrence, 28, of Colorado set the men’s 50-mile world record at 4:48:21 in 2023. That’s an average pace of 5:46 per mile for 50 miles.

The next year the women’s 50-mile world record was set at Tunnel Hill by Courtney Olsen, 37, of Bellingham, Washington.

Durbin said every fall season, records could tumble too.

“Our slogan has always been ‘How fast do you want to run?’ So, it’s up to them. If they want to run fast, Tunnel Hill’s the place to do so,” he said.

“It’s a perfect blend of small-town charm and just a community feel and a competitive vibe that makes you fall in love with ultra running,” said Polina Hodnette, who is a past Tunnel Hill 50-mile race champion. “My primary goal is to run faster than I did last year. I like competing with myself and just trying to improve my time.”

Hodnette is one of 26 runners from Chicago, and 200 from Illinois in the field of 800. 

Tunnel Hill is attracting top athletes from around the world to southern Illinois. This year running legend Des Linden – a two-time Olympian, and the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon after a three-decade drought – will try to add the tunnel hill title to her resume.

“I really hope with Des Linden doing it this year, it’s going to put it on the map for a lot of people now,” Hodnette said.

But for Goodkin, winning isn’t necessarily the point. The long journey is. The spirit of Homer’s Odyssey lives in his marathons and his music.

“Kind of like running, I found something in [the ultramarathons] that I didn’t expect to,” he said.

TUNNEL HILL ULTRA FAST FACTS:
WHEN: November 8, 2025
WHERE:  Vienna, IL (Tunnel Hill State Trail)
WHAT: 50/100 mile distances
PRIZE MONEY: 1st place – $1,200;   2nd place – $500;   3rd place – $300

Tunnel Hill will also host the USA Track & Field (USATF) 50 Mile Road Championships.