The 2019 Chicago Marathon was the 42nd annual running of the Chicago Marathon held in Chicago, Illinois, United States on October 13, 2019. The men's race was won by Kenyan Lawrence Cherono in 2:05:45 while the women's was won by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei in 2:14:04, a world record by 81 seconds. The men's and women's wheelchair races were won by Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schär in 1:30:26 and 1:41:08, respectively. More than 45,000 runners completed the race.[1]

42nd Chicago Marathon
VenueChicago, Illinois, United States
DateOctober 13, 2019
Champions
MenLawrence Cherono (Elite)
Daniel Romanchuk (Wheelchair)
WomenBrigid Kosgei (Elite)
Manuela Schär (Wheelchair)
← 2018
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Course

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The marathon distance is officially 26.219 miles (42.195 km) long as sanctioned by World Athletics.[2] The course starts and finishes in Grant Park. Before leaving the park, the course runs underneath the BP Pedestrian Bridge before entering Downtown Chicago where the runners go along Michigan Avenue, Grand Avenue, and State Street. The course turns north onto LaSalle Street and enters Lincoln Park around mile 5. The course continues to Sheridan Road before turning back south along Broadway, passing through Boystown, Old Town, and River North. The runners cross the Chicago River via the Wells Street Bridge before re-crossing the river heading west via the Monroe Street Bridge. The course passes through Greektown on Adams Street before turning back east in the 16th mile. The course continues down Jackson Boulevard then turns south through Little Italy and Pilsen before crossing the river again via Cermak Road. The course continues south through Chinatown before turning north just after mile 23 back towards the downtown. There is a slight uphill section after mile 26 before the course re-enters Grant Park to finish.[3][4]

There were 20 aid stations situated every one to two miles along the course.[5]

Field

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The favorite in the women's race was Brigid Kosgei who had run a personal best of 2:18:20 at the 2019 London Marathon in April. Kosgei won the previous year and had finished either first or second in nine out of ten of the marathons in her career.[6] In the initial field, only three other women had run sub-2:25 before; 2018 Paris Marathon winner Betsy Saina, Madaí Pérez who had run 2:22:59 in 2006, and Jordan Hasay, who ran 2:20:57 in 2017.[7] Hasay had finished third in the 2017 edition and third at the 2017 Boston Marathon, but had not competed at the 2018 Chicago Marathon or 2018 Boston Marathon due to two stress fractures in her foot.[8] Saina ran a time of 2:22:56 to win in Paris, but had failed to finish the 2017 Tokyo Marathon or 2017 New York City Marathon.[9] Pérez had finished fourth in 2:24:44 at the 2017 Chicago Marathon, but did not finish the 2018 Boston Marathon.[10] Other competitors in the field included three-time Olympian Fionnuala McCormack and Amy Cragg, however, she later pulled out of the race in August due to a hamstring injury.[7] Not long before the day of the race, Gelete Burka, who had won the 2019 Paris Marathon and had run a personal best of 2:20:45, joined the field.[11]

In the men's race, defending champion Mo Farah returned, having run 2:05:11 in 2018 and 2:05:29 at the 2019 London Marathon in April. Galen Rupp had finished in fifth place the previous year in a time of 2:06:21 and said he "could not be more excited" to be running.[12] Rupp had been recovering from a surgery on his left foot to treat Haglund's deformity, a congenital bump on the heel which causes problems for the Achilles tendon.[13] The field initially featured sub-2:04 runners Getaneh Molla (who had won the 2019 Dubai Marathon in 2:03:34)[14] and Herpasa Negasa (who finished in second place at the 2019 Dubai Marathon in 2:03:40), but they withdrew before the race.[15] This left Lawrence Cherono as the fastest in the field, having run 2:04:06 in 2018 as well as winning four of the last five marathons he ran, including the 2019 Boston Marathon in 2:07:57.[15] Others in the field included Asefa Mengstu, who had a personal best of 2:04:06 but had only competed in one World Marathon Major, where he finished seventh, Dickson Chumba, with a personal best of 2:04:32 and first place finishes at the 2015 Chicago Marathon and 2018 Tokyo Marathon, Seifu Tura (2:04:44 personal best), Bedan Karoki (58:42 personal best in the half-marathon), Bashir Abdi, and Dejene Debela.[15]

In the men's wheelchair race, Daniel Romanchuk returned to defend his title, having won the 2018 New York City Marathon, and the Boston and London Marathons in 2019.[16] Also racing were ten-time Boston winner Ernst van Dyk, who had finished fifth in Tokyo and Boston, and sixth in London in 2019,[17] eight time London winner David Weir, and four-time Chicago winner Josh George.[18] In the women's wheelchair race, Manuela Schär returned to defend her title, having won the last seven World Marathon Majors, most recently the 2019 Berlin Marathon in September.[18] She faced competition from three-time Chicago winner Amanda McGrory, eight-time Chicago winner Tatyana McFadden, and 2018 London winner Madison de Rozario.[18]

The men's wheelchair race started at 7:20 a.m. CT (UTC−5), the women's wheelchair race started one minute later, and the three waves of runners at 7:30, 8:00, and 8:35.[19][20] The winners of the men and women's elite races received $100,000 each with an additional $75,000 available for a course record, and the wheelchair winners received $20,000 each with $5,000 available for a course record.[21] The temperature at the start was around 40 °F (4 °C).[22] The weather forecast for the race was expected to be 46 °F (8 °C), with no chance of rain and 15–25-mile-per-hour (24–40 km/h) winds, described as "near ideal conditions" by the medical director.[23] The race was held a day after Eliud Kipchoge ran the first sub-2 hour marathon during the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria.[24]

Race summary

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In the men's wheelchair race, a large pack formed, which was together through the first half of the race. Soon after this, Romanchuk made a move and was able to break away from the pack, winning in a time of 1:30:26. The pack approached the finish three minutes later and, following a sprint finish, Weir finished second in 1:33:31, and van Dyk finished a second later in third. The women's wheelchair race was between McGrory, McFadden, Schär, and Susannah Scaroni. Schär opened up a slight gap on the rest just after the halfway mark and managed to hold her lead to win in 1:41:08. At the 40-kilometre (25 mi) mark, the other three competitors were neck-and-neck, before McGrory and McFadden left Scaroni, then McFadden left McGrory to take second place in 1:45:22. Meanwhile, Scaroni had managed to catch back up to McGrory and they both crossed the finish line in 1:45:29. A photo finish concluded that McGrory had taken third place.[25][26]

In the elite women's race, Kosgei set out very fast, passing 2 miles (3.2 km) in 9:54 and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) in 15:28 with Ababel Yeshaneh and Burka 8 and 35 seconds behind, respectively.[27][28] Hasay recorded a 5-kilometre split time of 22:20, equating to a 3:08 marathon, and she pulled out before the 10-kilometre mark citing a hamstring injury.[29] Kosgei went through 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in 31:28 and halfway in 1:06:59, which was over a minute faster than Paula Radcliffe's halfway split during her world record run at the 2003 London Marathon.[27] Saina, who had been running in fourth place, dropped out halfway through the race, having struggled with food poisoning on the journey to the United States from Kenya.[30] Running behind two male pacemakers, Kosgei passed 25 kilometres (16 mi) in 1:19:33, 30 kilometres (19 mi) in 1:35:18, 35 kilometres (22 mi) in 1:51:14, 40 kilometres (25 mi) in 2:07:11 and finished in a time of 2:14:04.[27][28] Kosgei beat Radcliffe's world record by 81 seconds and the course record, also set by Radcliffe in 2002, by 3:14.[31][32] When she crossed the line, she was congratulated by Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot[32] and Radcliffe, who posed for a photo with her.[33] Nearly seven minutes later, Yeshaneh and Burka finished in second and third in 2:20:51 and 2:20:55, respectively.[27]

In the men's category, Cherono made an early breakaway, running the first mile in 4:42 with two pacemakers before he was caught by the pack.[34] Six men, Debela, Cherono, Karoki, Mengstu, Chumba, and Tura, led for most of the race with a chasing pack close behind, however after 5 miles (8.0 km), the leading group had grown to nine runners with the addition of Abdi, Farah, and Rupp.[35][34] Rupp and Farah dropped out of the lead group after 7 miles (11 km) and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi), respectively.[35][22] By 20 kilometres (12 mi), the lead group was back down to the original six leaders and the pace was described by Cherono as "very competitive from the beginning" with the group going through half-way in 1:02:14 and Farah in 1:02:54 with Rupp three seconds behind[34] before the pacemakers dropped out about 30 kilometres (19 mi) into the race.[22][36] Not long after the halfway point, Rupp began to lose contact with Abdi and Farah, who were working together, but Rupp regained contact 18 miles (29 km) into the race, whilst Karoki increased the pace in the lead group. At just after 30 kilometres, Chumba dropped from the lead group and 5 kilometres later, was 34 seconds behind, with Abdi, Farah, and Rupp a further 48, 116, and 138 seconds behind, respectively.[34] Just before 23 miles (37 km), Rupp, who was nearly 3 minutes behind the leaders and 22 seconds behind Farah,[35] abandoned the race citing a calf strain which had been causing pain since mile 6.[37] At 38 kilometres (24 mi), Cherono made an attempt to break from the lead group, but was caught by Debela, Mengstu, and Karoki.[34] The other three runners left Karoki behind before the final turn of the race[22] before Cherono made a surge with 400 metres (1,300 ft) to go to and, following a sprint finish, won in a time of 2:05:45.[34] Debela and Mengstu finished second and third, one and three seconds behind, respectively. Karoki was fourth in 2:05:53 and Abdi ran a Belgian record by finishing fifth in 2:06:14.[22] Farah ran his slowest marathon ever, finishing eighth in 2:09:58.[38]

Nicholas Thompson, the editor in chief of WIRED, wrote about the race in an article titled "To Run My Best Marathon at Age 44, I Had to Outrun My Past."[39] He finished in 2:29 as one of the top Masters men.

Results

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The results were as follows.[40]

Men's results
Position Athlete Nationality Time
  Lawrence Cherono   Kenya 2:05:45
  Dejene Debela   Ethiopia 2:05:46
  Asefa Mengstu   Ethiopia 2:05:48
4 Bedan Karoki Muchiri   Kenya 2:05:53
5 Bashir Abdi   Belgium 2:06:14
6 Seifu Tura   Ethiopia 2:08:35
7 Dickson Chumba   Kenya 2:09:11
8 Mo Farah   United Kingdom 2:09:58
9 Jacob Riley   United States 2:10:36
10 Jerrell Mock   United States 2:10:37
Women's results
Position Athlete Nationality Time
  Brigid Kosgei   Kenya 2:14:04 WR
  Ababel Yeshaneh   Ethiopia 2:20:51
  Gelete Burka   Ethiopia 2:20:55
4 Emma Bates   United States 2:25:27
5 Fionnuala McCormack   Ireland 2:26:47
6 Stephanie Bruce   United States 2:27:47
7 Lindsay Flanagan   United States 2:28:08
8 Laura Thweatt   United States 2:29:06
9 Lisa Weightman   Australia 2:29:45
10 Taylor Ward   United States 2:30:14
Wheelchair men's results
Position Athlete Nationality Time
  Daniel Romanchuk   United States 1:30:26
  David Weir   Great Britain 1:33:31
  Ernst van Dyk   South Africa 1:33:32
Wheelchair women's result
Position Athlete Nationality Time
  Manuela Schär   Switzerland 1:41:08
  Tatyana McFadden   United States 1:45:22
  Amanda McGrory   United States 1:45:29

References

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  1. ^ McLaughlin, Eliott (October 13, 2019). "Kenya's Brigid Kosgei destroys women's world record at Chicago Marathon". CNN. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Marathon". World Athletics. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  3. ^ Matalene, Daphne (September 24, 2018). "What To Watch For While Running Chicago: A Course Overview". Women's Running. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Chicago Marathon course map" (PDF). Chicago Marathon. October 13, 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. ^ Hadfield, Jenny (September 16, 2019). "Here's How to Run Your Best Chicago Marathon". Runners World. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. ^ "2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Elite Runner: Brigid Kosgei". NBC Chicago. October 7, 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b Gault, Jonathan (August 28, 2019). "2019 Chicago Marathon Elite Field Analysis: An Extremely Shallow Women's Race, But The Men's Race Could Be Epic". letsrun.com. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  8. ^ "2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Elite Runner: Jordan Hasay". NBC Chicago. October 7, 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  9. ^ "2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Elite Runner: Betsy Saina". NBC Chicago. October 7, 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  10. ^ "2019 Chicago Marathon Elite Runner: Madai Perez". NBC Chicago. October 7, 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Bank of America Chicago Marathon Elite Field Changes Announced". NBC Chicago. October 8, 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Farah, Rupp and Hasay confirmed for Chicago Marathon". World Athletics. May 10, 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  13. ^ Goe, Ken (October 24, 2018). "Distance runner Galen Rupp undergoes foot surgery, won't run a spring marathon". The Oregonian. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Debutant Molla and Chepngetich smash course records in Dubai". World Athletics. January 25, 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  15. ^ a b c Gault, Jonathan (October 10, 2019). "2019 Chicago Marathon Men's Preview: Galen Rupp Returns to Face Mo Farah & Boston Champ Lawrence Cherono". letsrun.com. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  16. ^ "2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Wheelchair Elite: Daniel Romanchuk". NBC Chicago. October 8, 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  17. ^ "2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Wheelchair Elite: Ernst van Dyk". NBC Chicago. October 8, 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  18. ^ a b c Jiwani, Rory (October 10, 2019). "Everything you need to know about the Chicago Marathon". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  19. ^ Park, Minju (October 10, 2019). "Chicago Marathon: What You Need To Know". NPR. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  20. ^ "What Time Does the Chicago Marathon Start?". NBC Chicago. October 10, 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  21. ^ Bannon, Tim; Rumore, Kori (October 7, 2019). "Chicago Marathon 2019: Course map, where to watch the race and how to avoid traffic congestion". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  22. ^ a b c d e "Lawrence Cherono Sprints To 2019 Chicago Marathon Title, His 2nd Straight Major Win". letsrun.com. October 13, 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  23. ^ Bannon, Tim (October 11, 2019). "The forecast for Sunday's Chicago Marathon calls for cooler temperatures — but is that good for runners?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  24. ^ Britton, Bianca (October 12, 2019). "Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge smashes two-hour marathon barrier". CNN. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  25. ^ Dawson, Andrew (October 13, 2019). "Three Qualify for U.S. Paralympic Marathon Teams at Chicago Marathon". Runners World. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Chicago Marathon: Daniel Romanchuk kicks off series in style". International Paralympic Committee. October 14, 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  27. ^ a b c d Gretschel, Johanna (October 13, 2019). "Brigid Kosgei Smashes Paula Radcliffe's World Record At Chicago Marathon". FloTrack. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  28. ^ a b Mulkeen, Jon (October 13, 2019). "Kosgei smashes marathon world record in Chicago". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  29. ^ Lorge Butler, Sarah (October 13, 2019). "Jordan Hasay Drops Out of 2019 Chicago Marathon". Runners World. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  30. ^ Monti, David (October 19, 2019). "RRW: After Food Poisoning Nightmare, Betsy Saina To Run Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon". letsrun.com. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  31. ^ "Chicago Marathon 2019: Brigid Kosgei breaks Paula Radcliffe's marathon world record". The Independent. October 13, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-10-22. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Brigid Kosgei Breaks World Record at 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon". NBC Chicago. October 13, 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  33. ^ Davis, Wynne (October 13, 2019). "Kenyan Brigid Kosgei Smashes Women's World Record At Chicago Marathon". NPR. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  34. ^ a b c d e f Dutch, Taylor (October 13, 2019). "Lawrence Cherono Claims Chicago Crown by One-Second Margin". Runners World. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  35. ^ a b c Gretschel, Johanna (October 13, 2019). "Lawrence Cherono Wins Chicago Marathon; Former NOP Athletes Struggle". FloTrack. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  36. ^ Gray, James (October 13, 2019). "Marathon News - Mo Farah blown away as Lawrence Cherono wins Chicago Marathon". Eurosport. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  37. ^ Dutch, Taylor (October 13, 2019). "Galen Rupp Drops Out of Chicago Marathon". Runners World. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  38. ^ "Mo Farah eighth in Chicago Marathon as Lawrence Cherono wins". BBC. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  39. ^ Thompson, Nicholas. "To Run My Best Marathon at Age 44, I Had to Outrun My Past". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  40. ^ "Chicago Marathon 2019 Results". Chicago Marathon. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
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