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Chicago Marathon

19 editions, 2006–2026 · October

of finishes in an average year had a sustained slowdown

96 ft of climbing

Edition by edition, between 23% (2006) and 54% (2010).

Plan your Chicago

The median finish got 12 minutes quicker from the first three editions to the last three.

Fewer metronomes here: 25%, against 29% elsewhere.

Metronome25%
Gentle fader28%
Late fader17%
Early drifter16%
Cliff4%
Fast-start fader9%

Paced most like Chicago: Copenhagen, Rotterdam and Gold Coast.

Chicago’s 36%: higher than 15 of 22 other courses with three or more editions.

Of Chicago finishes on 4:00 pace through 20K, 12% made 4:00, against 15% elsewhere.

Of finishes on each goal's pace through 20K in the Chicago Marathon, the share that made the goal
Goal	Made the goal, out of 100 (the other courses ringed)	Made the goal
3:00		20%
3:30		14%
4:00		12%
4:30		9%
5:00		10%
	0%30%

At 69°F in 2021, 46% had a sustained slowdown. At 36°F in 2009, 25%.

All numbers5 tables

Chicago, the whole course
Finishes	763,250
Editions	19
Median finish, average edition	4:26:51
Sustained slowdown, average edition	35.7%
Second 20K more than 10% slower	52.9%
Median time given back after 20K	+14:11
Climb, whole route	96 ft

Chicago, edition by edition
Year	Race date	Finishes	Median finish	Sustained slowdown	At the start	Dew point	Humidity	Wind	Start time
2006	Oct 22	32,798	4:20:09	23.5%	40°F	37°F	92%	18.9 mph	08:00
2008	Oct 12	31,115	4:43:29	53.4%	63°F	56°F	77%	6.5 mph	08:00
2009	Oct 11	29,201	4:17:43	24.9%	36°F	21°F	54%	8.4 mph	07:30
2010	Oct 10	35,272	4:39:58	53.9%	63°F	56°F	80%	6.5 mph	07:30
2011	Oct 9	34,952	4:37:39	42.8%	59°F	56°F	90%	4.3 mph	07:30
2012	Oct 7	37,242	4:27:17	29.0%	43°F	29°F	59%	9.1 mph	07:30
2013	Oct 13	37,497	4:27:33	34.8%	53°F	45°F	74%	8.2 mph	07:30
2014	Oct 12	40,430	4:27:12	31.9%	46°F	40°F	79%	10.5 mph	07:30
2015	Oct 11	37,367	4:30:42	42.2%	55°F	45°F	71%	12.8 mph	07:30
2016	Oct 9	40,416	4:28:14	35.2%	53°F	47°F	81%	6.0 mph	07:30
2017	Oct 8	44,009	4:42:39	50.8%	56°F	53°F	91%	8.5 mph	07:30
2018	Oct 7	44,224	4:27:14	30.2%	58°F	56°F	93%	9.6 mph	07:30
2019	Oct 13	45,722	4:22:05	28.7%	39°F	34°F	81%	10.1 mph	07:30
2021	Oct 10	25,969	4:38:39	45.9%	69°F	64°F	83%	16.7 mph	07:30
2022	Oct 9	39,051	4:21:46	31.7%	45°F	33°F	62%	12.1 mph	07:30
2023	Oct 8	48,228	4:11:40	23.8%	46°F	39°F	76%	10.5 mph	07:30
2024	Oct 13	51,863	4:10:24	28.7%	58°F	56°F	91%	7.3 mph	07:30
2025	Oct 12	53,619	4:12:59	29.5%	51°F	48°F	90%	4.8 mph	07:35
2026	Oct 11	54,275	4:22:39	36.4%	56°F	55°F	93%	1.2 mph	07:30

Chicago, 5K by 5K
Section	Climb	Descent	Net	Pace vs. avg.
0–5K	21 ft	27 ft	−10 ft	−6.3%
5–10K	16 ft	13 ft	+1 ft	−5.7%
10–15K	8 ft	12 ft	+3 ft	−6.5%
15–20K	6 ft	12 ft	−7 ft	−3.7%
20–25K	10 ft	4 ft	+5 ft	−1.2%
25–30K	5 ft	0 ft	0 ft	+1.5%
30–35K	14 ft	9 ft	0 ft	+6.1%
35–40K	9 ft	18 ft	−7 ft	+10.7%
40K–finish	8 ft	6 ft	+6 ft	+3.9%

Chicago, goal by goal: finishes on each goal's pace through 20K
Goal	Finishes	Made the goal	Sustained slowdown	Given back after 20K	Median finish	10th–90th percentile
3:00	20,093	20.5%	23.8%	+6:05	3:05:31	2:58:42–3:20:19
3:30	43,886	13.7%	30.5%	+9:16	3:38:46	3:29:11–3:57:23
4:00	61,714	12.3%	39.9%	+14:07	4:13:45	3:59:15–4:37:27
4:30	55,431	8.8%	41.3%	+17:40	4:47:19	4:30:42–5:12:52
5:00	38,798	10.1%	44.8%	+22:07	5:21:03	4:59:55–5:46:30

Chicago, pacing types
Pacing type	Chicago	Other courses
Metronome	25%	29%
Gentle fader	28%	31%
Late fader	17%	16%
Early drifter	16%	14%
Cliff	4%	3%
Fast-start fader	9%	7%

How these were measured

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