Chicago Marathon moves to lottery

The 2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will use a lottery system to determine entries for the Oct. 12 race. Last year, the race website crashed on the first day of registration and was shut down for the weekend. 

Jan 16, 2014

Handing out Grades for the 2013 Chicago Marathon

Oct 14, 2013

Convincing Course Record for Kimetto at Chicago Marathon

CONVINCING COURSE RECORD FOR KIMETTO AT CHICAGO MARATHON

Oct 13, 2013

LIVE STREAM: Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2013

LIVE STREAM: Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2013

Oct 11, 2013

LIVE UPDATES: Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2013

LIVE UPDATES: Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2013

Oct 11, 2013

Chicago Marathon Women's Preview: The top two returners and then everyone else

I’m not sure how these things actually work, but this is how I imagine the Chicago Marathon Committee selected this year’s women’s elite field:

Oct 11, 2013

Chicago Marathon Men's Preview: Four safe bets, four wildcards, and one Ritz

Sometimes, I wonder what it’s like to be a major marathon director. I imagine running a marathon is hard, but I also imagine that trying to assemble a field better than the year prior is a few steps below in difficulty. With what happened last year at the Chicago Marathon, Race Director Carey Pinkowski had his work cut out for him.

Oct 10, 2013

Chicago Marathon Race Preview: The U.S. 1-2 Punch of Ritzenhein & Tegenkamp

At the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Dathan Ritzenhein improved his personal best by two minutes and now ranks as the third fastest American marathoner in history with his 2:07.47. If the weather is cool and the conditions are right, Ritzenhein believes he could improve on his mark from last year. 

Oct 9, 2013

RRW: Past Champions Mosop, Baysa Lead Chicago Marathon Field

PAST CHAMPIONS MOSOP, BAYSA LEAD CHICAGO MARATHON FIELD By Chris Lotsbom, @ChrisLotsbom (c) 2013 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.   (05-Sep) -- Bank of America Chicago Marathon officials released today the elite athlete fields for the race's 36th edition, to be held on Sunday, October 13. The professional contingent features four sub-2:05 marathoners, including past champion Moses Mosop, and reigning women's winner Atsede Baysa. The race will be the sixth stop of the World Marathon Majors series this year.   Among the leading men announced were Mosop, London Marathon course record holder Emmanuel Mutai, 2013 Tokyo Marathon winner Dennis Kimetto, and 2012 Standard Charter Dubai Marathon victor Ayele Abshero. The Kenyan trio of Mosop, Mutai, and Kimetto have all raced to times under 2:04:40, with Mosop's best of 2:03:06 coming at the 2011 Boston Marathon where he finished second. En route to winning the 2011 Chicago Marathon on Columbus Drive, Mosop set a then course record of 2:05:37.   "Winning the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon was one of the proudest moments of my career and I look forward to returning to a course and a city that I enjoyed so much," said Mosop in a statement provided by officials. "I lost my course record last year to [Tsegaye] Kebede and I was disappointed that I was not there to defend it. I know the competition will be great once again this year and I'm excited to return to Chicago."   Reigning champion Kebede will not be defending his title, leaving Abshero to try and become just the second Ethiopian men's champion in race history. In his debut marathon, Abshero became the youngest athlete to crack the sub-2:05 barrier, timing 2:04:23 at 21-years-old.   Among other international athletes in the Chicago Marathon field are Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese, Ethiopia's Tilahun Regassa and Atsedu Tsegaye, as well as Kenya's Sammy Kitwara. From Japan will be Yoshinori Oda.   Previously announced was a strong American contingent, led by Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein --the top American at last year's race, when he clocked 2:07:47 to become the third fastest American at the distance-- and debutant Matt Tegenkamp. On Labor Day, the 31-year-old Tegenkamp won the USA 20-K national championship in 1:00:10, subsequently earning USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week honors.   "I feel really good," Tegenkamp told Race Results Weekly, adding that he was "really looking forward to the process" of completing his marathon training.   The women's contest at last year's Chicago Marathon came down to one second, as Ethiopia's Atsede Baysa bettered Rita Jeptoo, 2:22:03 to 2:22:04. Both will return to the streets of the Windy City next month.   "After finishing second at the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, it was my goal to come back and win. Last year, I was thrilled to accomplish that dream," said Baysa. "Rita pushed me to my limit, all the way to the last step, and I'm sure it will be the same again this year. I am training very hard to be at my best in Chicago."   Baysa's victory in Chicago broke a five-year streak of Russian champions. Since the win last October, Baysa finished fourth at April's Virgin London Marathon while Jeptoo won the Boston Marathon.   In addition to Baysa and Jeptoo, 2013 Rotterdam Marathon winner Jemima Jelagat, Russia's Maria Konovalova, and Japan's Yukiko Akaba will toe the starting line in Grant Park. Joining them are Ethiopians Abebech Afework and Ehitu Kiros Reda, Belarus national record-holder Aliaksandra Duliba, and China's Yue Chao and Zhang Jingxia.   "It will be hard to top last year when the top three men all broke the previous course record and the women's race was decided by a single second, but this is the field that can do it," said Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski in a statement. "These athletes are among the most exciting in the sport, not only with their fast times, but with their proven ability to win on the biggest stages in the world. We have two returning champions in Moses from 2011 and Atsede with her memorable victory last year. They are the ones to beat, but they'll have their work cut out for them against deep competition."   In 2012, a race record 37,475 athletes completed the Chicago Marathon, making it the largest marathon in the world last year (the ING New York City Marathon was cancelled due to Superstorm Sandy).   Yesterday, the race organizers also announced that an economic impact report from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Regional Economics Applications Laboratory found the race contributed $243.46 million in total business activity to the Chicago economy.   For a complete list of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon elite athlete field, visit:   http://www.chicagomarathon.com/press-center/2013-elite-athlete-field/

Sep 5, 2013

Four Sub-2:05 Men and Top Returning Women 2013 Chicago Marathon

Four Sub-2:05 Men and Top Returning Women Highlight Elite Fields

Sep 5, 2013

Chicago Marathon Makes Changes to Security Policies

On October 13, the 2013 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will be the first World Marathon Major run on American soil since two explosions killed three people and injured more than 260 people at the Boston Marathon on April 15. In an email sent to all participants of this year’s runners, race organizers announced several updates to the marathon’s policies and procedures. 

Aug 29, 2013

Matt Tegenkamp to Make Marathon Debut at the 2013 Chicago Marathon

June 27, 2013

Jun 27, 2013