2024 Chicago Marathon preview: Full schedule and how to watch the action live
About 50,000 runners are expected to line-up for the 2024 Chicago Marathon on Sunday 13 October. It will be a special race with the organisers planning activities to honour the late record-holder Kelvin Kiptum. Find out everything you need to know about the 46th edition of the race that will be streamed live on Olympics.com
Thousands of runners are bracing for an emotional return to the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, 13 October, the first edition since Kelvin Kiptum smashed the men’s world record in the Windy City.
There will be a moment of silence at the starting line where Kiptum started his epic race last year that took him only two hours 35 seconds to finish. The 24-year-old died in a car accident four months after his astonishing achievement.
At this year’s race, the 50,000 starters will be displaying memorial stickers for Kiptum, while the men's elite runners are looking to take advantage of the fast and flat course to inch closer to his world record.
Kenyans are tipped to lead the charge for the men’s title, with 2022 London Marathon winner Amos Kipruto looking to better his personal best of 2:03:13 in honour of Kiptum. He will be joined by Vincent Ngetich, who was second in Berlin last year. CJ Albertson, one of the four top finishers at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team trials, is also on the entry list.
Former American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato is among a classy field assembled for the women’s tace. Ruth Chepngetich, runner-up behind Sifan Hassan last year, will start as one of the key athletes to watch alongside fellow Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei.
Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede, the reigning Tokyo marathon champion, is the other key challenger for the women’s title.
Here is everything you need to know about who to watch, the schedule and where to watch the 2024 Chicago Marathon.
Athletes to watch at the 2024 Chicago Marathon
Amos Kipruto heads classy men’s field
About eight months ago, Kipruto was one of million marathon fans around the world who received the shocking news that Kiptum had died. Kipruto is keen on battling the lingering sadness with a great run on Sunday which will be his first Chicago Marathon.
Kipruto,32, failed in his bid to defend his London Marathon title in April 2023, where he met Kiptum. Though the Tokyo 2020 Olympian didn’t finish that race, there were still plenty of cheers in Kenya, as the younger Kiptum set the course record.
Kipruto is aiming to put behind a disappointing 2023 when he dropped out at the race in London and faded to seventh in Berlin, by running his fastest race ever on the quick course.
His teammate Ngetich, a relative newcomer to the marathon, could be his key challenger. Ngetich who will be lacing up for only his third marathon equalled Kipruto’s marathon PB of 2:03:13 with his debut in Berlin last year, where he finished second behind Eliud Kipchoge.
The Ethiopian pair of Dawit Wolde, third at the 2023 Valencia Marathon, and Amdework Wlelegn, the runner-up at this year’s Rotterdam Marathon, should be inspired by their compatriots’ dominance at the 2024 Berlin Marathon.
Americans Albertson, Zach Panning who led most of the Olympic Trials before fading to a sixth-place finish, Nathan Martin and Reed Fischer also go into the race with ‘big hopes’ after failing to make the Paris 2024 Olympic team.
“After a heartbreaking Olympic Trials I knew I wanted to run fast this fall. I can’t think of a better place to do that than the fastest marathon course in the world,” said Panning who debuted in the marathon in Chicago in 2022.
“Chicago feels like home. This year, I’m coming to the race with big goals."
Ruth Chepngetich targets hat-trick in Chicago
Course experience could make all the difference for the 2019 world champion as she seeks to become the first woman to win three times at Chicago. After back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022, and the second-place last year, Chepngetich is hoping for a return to the good old days after a crushing ninth in London in April.
She’s the fastest of the women’s professional field with 2:14:18, her winning time in 2022. Other returnees from last year’s field include Kebede (15th in 2023) and Jepkosegei, who was fourth.
“I am extremely happy to come back to Chicago and run on a course that has proven to be very fast,” said Kebede, who will be joined in the sub2:28 marathon class by fellow Ethiopians Degitu Azimeraw, Ashete Bekere and Hiwot Gebrekidan.
Keira D’Amato and Betsy Saina will aim to become the first victors from the host nation since Deena Kastor in 2005.
And to honour one of the best performances ever on the Chicago Marathon course, there are several activities planned in honour of Kiptum.
Besides the minute of silence at the starting line, there will also be an exhibit celebrating his career at the pre-race expo.
"He's still prevalent in everyone's thoughts. "He's with us and it's our plan to celebrate his life,” Race Director Carey Pinkowski told Reuters. "I was so impressed by his biomechanics and his ability was just effortless, it was like something I've never seen before. And I've seen a lot of the greats.”
Chicago Marathon 2024 schedule
The 46th edition of the Chicago Marathon will begin and end at the Grant Park.at 7:30 am CDT (UTC/GMT -5 hours) on Sunday 13 October with runners beginning in three different waves.
The men and women’s wheelchair races will as usual kickstart the marathon schedule at 7:20am and 7:21 am respectively.
- 7:20am - Wheelchair men
- 7:21am -Wheelchair women
- 7:23am -Handcyle start
- 7:30am - Marathon wave 1
- 8:00am -Marathon wave 2
- 8:35am Marathon wave 3
How to watch the 2024 Chicago Marathon
This year’s Chicago Marathon will be broadcast on NBC 5 Chicago, Telemundo Chicago and TeleXitos in English and Spanish. NBC Chicago will offer live streams on the NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago apps.
The races will also be broadcast live on Olympics.com in a number of territories.
International viewers can also watch the race via a variety of global broadcast partners, including Eurosport, Eurosport India, SMG China, FloSports, ESPN Brazil and ESPN Latin America.