Ford and Iroquois Counties

Well, this is what running in all 102 counties is supposed to be about: learning a little bit about new areas of the state and visiting places I haven't been before.
I did two races this Fourth of July week-end. Unfortunately they were both only 5Ks, but I am learning that 5Ks are often the only race available in many counties. I previously never did 5Ks, thinking they were too short. Now, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will be doing a lot of them, so my goal is to improve my time. (I could have done a third 5K this week-end, in Champaign County, but next year that county is hosting the first ever "Illinois Marathon" and I want to make that the race I do in that county.)
Anyway, on Friday, July 4, I ran the Paxton, Illinois "Knights of Columbus 5K on the 4th" in Ford County. The race was nice. It was a flat course and the K of C volunteers were great. My in-laws live just 10 miles north of Paxton, in Iroquois County. My wife, child and I came up the night before and stayed in Paxton's Timber Creek B & B. I highly recommend it. We ate dinner Thursday at the Arcade Restaurant (how could we say no to a place that serves Armenian and Mexican food?!). After Friday's race, we went to the Paxton 4th of July festival with my in-laws. It was huge, very kid friendly and very Norman Rockwell. We then celebrated my in-laws 50th anniversary at Timber Creek that afternoon and night with the rest of the family.
Saturday morning I drove to Clifton, in northern-most Iroquois County, and did the Central 5K Memorial Scholarship Foundation's "Race to Remember Dawn Schafer." They sponsor this 5k every year in memory of a student and to raise money for a scholarship. Again, another nice race on flat streets. I had never been to Clifton before and it seems like a prosperous, pleasant town. I have been to Paxton many times but never explored it much. It too, seems very nice and really impressed me this week-end.
Both races had about 100 runners and were very low-key, laid back affairs, although Clifton was professionally done with chip timing. I ran hard in Paxton, especially at the finish, and got a time of 25:37, a personal best for a 5k for me. Again, I never ran 5Ks when I was younger. In Clifton my time was 24:42, which, in all honesty, I have trouble believing is correct, since I didn't feel I did as well as I did Paxton and it is a 55 second reduction in time from Paxton. But, when the clock is in your favor, why argue?
I am up to 19 counties. My next planned race is the Coon Classic 10K in Kane County in August, although I would love to do the Race for the Bagel 10K in Coles County in July. Then, hopefully, some longer races in September and October.