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Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2008/2009
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon has been held annually for the last 30 years in
September/October; last time on October 12, 2008. Since the first Chicago Marathon
in 1977, the field of runners has increased from 4,200 to 45,000, but the race has
all along the way been one of the largest marathon road races in the world, which makes
it an obvious member of the
World Marathon Majors.
The limit of 45,000 participants
is usually reached already 6 months before race day. The record-breaking number
of runners is watched by 1.5 million spectators, so the streets of
Windy City are packed on Marathon Sunday.
Chicago Marathon
is one of the many city marathons that boast a fast and flat course with no noteworthy
hills. The course starts in Grant Park by Lake Michigan. From here the route goes
through the ethnic neighbourhoods in northern Chicago and all the way to the South
side before it returns to Grant Park, taking the marathoners on a colourful journey
through the many sides of Chicago. The crowds along the way are known to be abundant
and extremely supportive.
In the 30-year history of Chicago Marathon the race
has been the field of some record-setting and exciting battles at the finish line.
One of the most dramatic endings of the marathon occurred in 2006, when Kenyan Robert
K. Cheruiyot slipped right before breaking the finish tape. Cheruiyot fell on his
back and hit his head on the asphalt. But he was lucky enough to slide forward in
the fall causing his timing chip to cross the finish line and making him the winner
of the race, 5 seconds in front of slightly confused runner-up Daniel Njenga. Cheruiyot
suffered a concussion, was taken to the hospital and discharged a couple of days
later.
Feel like running Chicago Marathon on Sunday 11 October 2009? Registration and further information on Bank of America Chicago Marathon is found at the
official website
Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2009 Course
Click
here for course information and course map.
See more info and past results on the next page:
Chicago Marathon Results and Information
Meltdown at Chicago Marathon 2007
The 2007 version of Chicago Marathon, on Sunday October 7, 2007, ended in chaos and commotion when temperatures reached the city’s all time record of 88º F (31º C) two hours after race start. By this time, the first elite runners were crossing the finish line while most first-timers and social runners were not even close to halfway. Several runners fainted or vomited because of the exceptional heat, and when the water stations started running out of water, the organisers found it necessary to shot the race down. Everybody who had not crossed the half marathon mark 3 ½ hours after start time was driven to the finish area in Grant Park.
Naturally, this caused some displeasure among the runners who had trained for month and spent a great deal of money on entry fees and maybe on travelling and accommodation. Not receiving the finisher’s medal and having your photo taken at the finish line is quite the disappointment after wearing out your training shoes and looking forward to receiving every acquaintance’s praise for having finished the Chicago Marathon. The organisers claim that they were forced to call off the race due to safety reasons as emergency rooms were filled up and the medical staff had too much work to do. The disappointed runners maintain that the organisers should have been better prepared – for example by checking the weather forecasts and providing enough water to keep all runners hydrated. No judgements will sound from here, only sympathy for both the frustrated runners and the race organisers who had to make a tough decision.
The most complains from runners are dealing with the fact that many water station had run out of both water and Gatorade and they had to turn to fountains and generous spectators to get hydrated and to cool down their sweltering bodies. 9,000 registered runners checked the weather forecasts and stayed at home, while 11,000 runners did cross the start line but not the finish line. Some of these dropped out by own free will and busses picked up the rest of them after the course was closed. According to eyewitnesses, some runners seemed to welcome the excuse to escape the steaming sauna that the race had turned into. Others were, of course, sorry to see months of training go down the drain. 24,000 participants crossed the finish line, which is the lowest number for many years of Chicago Marathon history.
Selected videos from Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2007