Overview

In 1976, a small band of running enthusiasts met at the Metropolitan YMCA on LaSalle Street to plan a marathon in Chicago. They realised their vision on 25 September 1977, hosting 4,200 local runners in the first Chicago Marathon. It has since expanded to 45,000 runners and attracts an estimated 1.7 million on-course spectators.

The flat course, which begins and ends in Chicago’s historic Grant Park, has elicited two men’s world records (by Steve Jones in 1984 and Khalid Khannouchi in 1999) and three women’s world records (by Catherine Ndereba in 2001, Paula Radcliffe in 2022 and in 2019 by Brigid Kosgei, who set the current mark of 2:14:04).

Key stats

• Inaugural running: 1977
• Largest field: 45,932 finishers (2019) 

Recent participation

Course records

• Men: 2:03:45 (Dennis Kimetto, KEN, 2013) 
• Women: 2:14:04 (Brigid Kosgei, KEN, 2019) 

Most victories

• Men: 4 (Khalid Khannouchi, MAR/USA)
• Women: 2 (Rosa Mota, POR, Lisa Weidenbach, USA, Ritva Lemettinen, FIN, Marian Sutton, GBR, Joyce Chepchumba, KEN, Catherine Ndereba, KEN, Berhane Adere, ETH, Florence Kiplagat, KEN, Brigid Kosgei, KEN)
• Runner prize purse: US$588,000 (US$75,000 to male and female champions)

Wheelchair course records

• Men: 1:25:20 (Heinz Frei, SUI, 2010)
• Women: 1:39:15 (Tatyana McFadden, USA, 2017)

Most wheelchair victories

• Men: 5 (Kurt Fearnley, AUS)
• Women: 9 (Tatyana McFadden, USA)
• Wheelchair prize purse: US$152,500 (US$25,000 for male and female champions)

Organisation information

• Race contact: Carey Pinkowski, Executive Race Director (chicagomarathon.com)
• Media contact: Alex Sawyer, Director of Communications (+1 312 992 6618, alex.sawyer@cemevent.com)
• Upcoming race date: Sunday 8 October 2023