← All eventsChicago Marathon
Flat, fast, minimal-turn Abbott Major starting and finishing in Grant Park, through 29 neighbourhoods including the Magnificent Mile and Chinatown. Alongside Berlin, one of the two great PB courses. Always the second Sunday of October; next 10 Oct 2027. 6:30 course cutoff.
One of the two great PB courses of the Marathon Majors, alongside Berlin. 42.195km of pancake-flat city streets, barely 30m of climb, starting and finishing in Grant Park.
The wide grid runs through 29 Chicago neighbourhoods, past the Magnificent Mile, Lincoln Park and Chinatown. Minimal turns, long straights, roaring crowds and cool October air.
Which is exactly the trap. Flat and fast tempts an overfast start, and mistakes compound with nowhere to hide. The 6:30 cutoff is generous, but the real test is pacing discipline over 26.2 miles.
Is Chicago Marathon for you?
- Runners chasing a personal best. Flat, straight and famously fast, this is one of the best courses in the world to run a quick marathon time.
- Disciplined pacers. The featureless-fast streets reward even splits and punish anyone who overcooks the early Magnificent Mile crowds.
- Runners who trust their plan over their watch. GPS drifts under the early tunnels, so holding target pace by feel beats chasing a jumpy screen.
- First-time Major hopefuls who want the big-city occasion. Around 50,000 runners, huge crowds, and a generous 6:30 cutoff to finish official.
Training plan for Chicago Marathon
A training plan for Chicago Marathon isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- 42.195km with almost no elevation, so raw aerobic fitness and marathon-pace endurance decide the day, not terrain
- Long straight streets that tempt an overfast start, especially through the roaring Magnificent Mile crowds
- The wall zone from around 30km, where even, well-fuelled pacing is your only defence on a flat course
- GPS drift under the early tunnels, luring you into chasing a phantom pace off a jumpy watch
- Marathon-pace long runs, 30 to 34km with 15 to 20km at goal pace, fuelled exactly as on race day
- Even-pace focus runs, 12 to 16km at marathon pace on long straight routes, held by plan not by watch
- Long tempos of 40 to 60 minutes at marathon pace, plus 3 to 4 x 3km threshold reps in the build
- Fuelling rehearsed at 60 to 90g of carbs an hour, trained on your long runs from 12 weeks out
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
