This Sunday, October 13, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2024 will take place, one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year. Here you can find the map and important points to know, as well as how registration works and a guide.
Grant Park is the meeting point for runners to start the race, and it opens at 5:30 a.m., the same time as gear check and start corrals open. The start corrals for Wave 1 close at 7:20 a.m., which is also when wheelchair participants begin.
Start Times and Time Limit
Wave 1 starts at 7:30 a.m., Wave 2 at 7:45 a.m., and Wave 3 at 8:35 a.m. Participants who finish after 4 p.m. will not be recorded or published as official finishers and may not receive support from all the aid stations along the course. The time limit to complete the marathon is 6 hours and 30 minutes, which reflects a pace of 15 minutes per mile. This pace will be maintained by an event vehicle following the last runner.
Registration
Registration for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2024 closed on November 16 of last year. Registration for the next edition will begin on Tuesday, October 22, at 10 a.m. and will close on November 21 at 2 p.m. The Chicago Marathon 2025 will take place on Sunday, October 12.
Course and Aid Stations
There are 20 aid stations located throughout the course, spaced one to two miles apart. These are the different types of aid stations:
- Medical tent
- Portable toilets
- Hydration: Water and Gatorade Endurance Formula
- Public address announcer
If a participant cannot continue due to injury or fatigue, there will be transport at various points along the course to take them back to Grant Park. The same applies to medical support, which will be available at 22 locations, marked by red signs with the medical icon.
The Chicago Marathon course is recognized worldwide, and 1.7 million spectators are expected to support the competitors across the 29 neighborhoods the course traverses.
Timing checkpoints are located every 5 kilometers, as well as at the halfway point (13.1 miles) and at the finish line. These will display the elapsed time for each wave, and individual times will depend on when the athlete crosses the starting line at the beginning of the race.