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Five storylines to follow at Sunday’s Chicago Marathon

The 2016 Chicago Marathon is Sunday in the windy city as 40,000 runners take part in one of the world's largest road races.

Chicago Marathon

The last major marathon turned out to be one of the great races in history as the men’s world record was nearly set at the Berlin Marathon at the end of September. The next big race on the major marathon schedule is a popular one among Canadians, the Chicago Marathon.

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The fields may not be as deep as in previous years because of the recent Rio Olympics as well as the Berlin Marathon two weeks ago. Still, both returning champions will be back in Chicago on Sunday for the hotly-contested road race, which attracts upwards of 40,000 participants each year.

Start time: 8:30 a.m. EDT, Oct. 9.

Returning champions

The men’s winner, Dickson Chumba, is back to defend his 2015 title. Unlike Berlin and other major marathons, there are no designated rabbits – athletes who set the pace but drop out midway through the race – in Chicago. The rationale behind the lack of pacers is it allows runners to duke it out instead of the race being more a time trial format.

The winning time in 2015 was five minutes slower than the 2014 winning time in the men’s race after race organizers opted against pace setters.

Also in the field is journeyman Abel Kirui, who interestingly ran at the 2015 Blue Nose half-marathon in Nova Scotia. The two-time world marathon champion joins contenders Tsegaye Kebede, the 2012 winner in Chicago, American Luke Puskedra and accomplished road runner Stephen Sambu.

Sambu, a University of Arizona graduate, according to Flotrack, has earned US$280,000 for running at various road races since 2012.

The women’s winner is also returning for the 2016 Chicago Marathon. Florence Kiplagat, the world half-marathon record holder, is the favourite to win again on Sunday. There will be more than one Kiplagat who contends for the title as Edna is also slated to race.

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The 2016 Boston Marathon champion, Atsede Baysa, is also in the field and her win in Boston last year bodes well for Chicago as both are non-rabbitted races.

The race lost some of its edge recently when the fastest marathon runner in history, Dennis Kimetto, pulled out due to injury.

Great chance for runners to set a new personal best

The Chicago Marathon is considered one of the world’s fastest courses because of the lack of elevation change. Often times, however, the race is characterized by the city’s nickname, the “Windy City.” The race’s reputation and great atmosphere means it’s a popular race for Canadians as it’s a long weekend for many because of Thanksgiving.

Michal Kapral goes for a world record

There could be a world record that goes down this weekend. Michal Kapral will be going for the world record for fastest marathon while juggling, a mark which he currently owns at 2:50:12. Kapral, 44 and a resident of Toronto, is a former editor at Canadian Running. He has a non-juggling lifetime best of 2:30 in the marathon.

There are no Canadians in the elite men’s or women’s fields for Sunday morning as many of the country’s best ran at the Olympics or are opting for the New York City Marathon in early November.

Post-race bling

The Chicago Marathon revealed the finishers medal earlier this week. This year’s medal features the Chicago Picasso. Last year, the medal featured Cloud Gate, the bean-like sculpture near the race’s start line.

Celebrity appearances

Not gonna lie…this is nerve racking!!! #rydercup #gousa

A photo posted by Rob Riggle (@robriggle) on

There are likely to be a number of celebrities who compete in Chicago on the weekend. One such celebrity will be Rob Riggle, an American comedian known for his role as a correspondent on The Daily Show.

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