Chicago Marathon

About the race

Chicago is the flattest major in America, the most consistent course on the World Marathon Majors circuit, and the best place to find out what you're actually capable of. If you have a fitness target, run it here. The 45,000-person field runs through 29 Chicago neighborhoods with continuous crowd support from start to finish at Grant Park.

Course profile

150 feet of total elevation change. No meaningful climbs, no bridge crossings, no technical sections. The course is a modified loop through the city's south and west side neighborhoods before returning to the lakefront. Aid stations are every mile. The only tactical challenge is managing the first two miles in a field of 45,000 runners — go out easy, find your pace, and the course will not get in your way.

Race-day conditions

The second Sunday in October delivers 40–55°F at the start. Wind off Lake Michigan is the main variable; a south wind helps the back half, a north wind doesn't. The 2007 edition was stopped mid-race due to exceptional heat — in every other edition, conditions have been racing-friendly.

Using the predictor

Your Chicago time is the most reliable baseline this tool has. It translates almost 1:1 to Berlin and requires only modest adjustment for hillier courses. If you're building toward a BQ attempt, Chicago in October or CIM in December are the two courses where your hard training will show up cleanly in the results.

Boston qualifying standards

Chicago is one of the best courses in the world for a BQ attempt. The standards below are the official BAA minimums — plan to beat your standard by at least 5 minutes to ensure registration, as the field fills before all qualifiers can register in most years.

In 2024, the cutoff was 5 minutes 29 seconds faster than the qualifying standard. Plan to beat your standard by at least 5 minutes to have a strong chance of registration.

Common questions