How to watch the 2019 Chicago Marathon

Your one-stop-shop for all things Chicago

Madeleine Kelly October 8, 2019

Sunday October 13 is the 2019 Chicago Marathon. This year’s event has a killer men’s field and a women’s field that could produce a new American record. With only five days until one of the biggest running events of the year, here’s everything you need to know about the race.

Elite fields

Lawrence Cherono KEN 2:04:06–Cherono is the defending Boston Champion who’s since clocked a 1:00:46 half-marathon. While he doesn’t have the strongest personal best to his name, he’s got a track record of showing up on race day.

Dickson Chumba KEN 2:04:32–Chumba has one of the oldest personal bests of the line up. The Kenyan ran his 2:04 back in 2014 in Chicago. His most recent result is from the 2019 Tokyo Marathon, where he placed third.

Mo Farah GRB 2:05:11–Sir Mo is certainly looking for a personal best in Chicago. After teasing that he might double Chicago and the World Championships, he was not on the Doha start list, and chose to focus his efforts on the road. Farah will be hunting to enter into sub-2:05 territory and hopfeully break his own European record, which he set last year in Chicago.

Natasha LaBeaud CAN 2:35:33–Labeaud was born in Canada but lives with her husband, who’s American, in San Diego. “The big goal for the race is to be top 10. I’ve also had the 2:29 Olympic standard written down as a time goal. I’ve had my eyes on the Olympic rings since I was young and my sights are still set there. There are ups and downs and the Olympics is a big goal, but it’s certainly on my radar heading into Chicago.”

Jordan Hasay USA 2:20:57–The American, poised to overtake Deena Kastor’s American record (2:19:36), was coached by Alberto Salazar and is an NOP athlete. Hasay is the second-fastest American female marathoner in history. Hasay has raced a lot in 2019, most recently clocking a 1:12 half-marathon at the Rock n Roll Philadelphia race weekend.

The link to the full elite fields can be found here.

Course

Course maps can be found here.

Schedule (local time)

5:30 a.m. – Gear check opens
5:30 a.m. – Start corrals open
7:20 a.m. – Wave 1 (Red) start corrals close
7:20 a.m. – Marathon Wheelchair Start (men)
7:21 a.m. – Marathon Wheelchair Start (women)
7:22 a.m. – Handcycle Start
7:23 a.m. – Athletes with Disabilities Start
7:30 a.m. – Wave 1 Start
7:45 a.m. – Wave 2 (Blue) start corrals close
8:00 a.m. – Wave 2 Start
8:10 a.m. – Wave 3 (Orange) start corrals close
8:35 a.m. – Wave 3 Start
9:30 a.m. – Grant Park opens to spectators
9:30 a.m. – Biofreeze 27th Mile Post-Race Party starts
4:00 p.m. – Gear check closes
4:00 p.m. – Biofreeze 27th Mile Post-Race Party ends

Results

Live results can be found here.

Live stream

There are several live streams where you can catch all of the live action. Unfortunately, they all require paid subscriptions. Runnerspace and NBC Sports Gold will stream the event online (behind a paywall) and the Olympic Channel will do the TV broadcast.

Weather

The weather is looking good for Chicago on Sunday morning. Right now the long-term forecast is showing 13 C with some mild wind and only a 20 per cent chance of rain.