Чикагский марафон: история и современность

Annual footrace held in Chicago, U. S.

The Chicago Marathon is a marathon race held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth largest race by number of finishers worldwide. Annual Chicago marathons were held from 1905 to the 1920s, but the first race in the present series occurred on September 25, 1977, under the original name the Mayor Daley Marathon, which drew a field of 4,200 runners. The race has been held every year since, except in 1987 when only a half marathon was run, and in 2020 as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. It became among the fastest growing modern marathon road races in the world, due in part to its largely fast and flat course which facilitates the pursuit of personal records and world record performances. The race has achieved its elite status among marathons by developing relationships with sponsors who provide prize money to lure elite runners who have produced American and world record performances. Since 2008, the race has been sponsored and organized by Bank of America, and is officially known as the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The race is limited to around 50,000 runners and only runners who finish within 61/2 hours are officially timed. Those wishing to participate can register after either meeting a time qualifying standard or being selected through a general lottery. Although the race has limited registration, exceptions include elite runners, legacy finishers, and charity representatives. Increasingly, local, national and global charities as well as humanitarian organizations encourage sponsored participation in the event as a means of fund raising.

The first modern marathon at the 1896 Games of the I Olympiad in Greece generated interest in the sport which led to similar races throughout most western countries and across the United States. While marathons sporadically occurred in New York City and St. Louis, the Boston Marathon had established an annual marathon in 1897, soon to be followed by a Chicago annual race. Beginning in 1905, the Chicago Marathon (organized first by the Illinois Athletic Club 1905 to 1909, then sponsored by the Chicago Daily News after 1910) was held annually, with significant community and spectator support, until the early 1920s. The first Chicago Marathon was run on September 23, 1905. In a stunning upset, a reported 100,000 or more spectators watched Chicagoan Rhud Metzner come from behind to steal a late race victory from the favored Louis Marks. It was not until the health consciousness of the 1960s that marathon growth gained traction in the public's eyes. Frank Shorter's 1972 Games of the XX Olympiad marathon victory represented the convergence of many middle class American ideals. Then the 1976 New York City Marathon, which was the first New York City Marathon to embrace the five borough course, popularized the big city marathon. As the New York marathon began to grow exponentially in the 1970s, the Chicago Marathon was established as a rival to the New York City Marathon. During the mid 1980s, it was named America's Marathon/Chicago and opened up the way for appearance payments. Joan Benoit Samuelson described the Chicago Marathons of the mid 1980s as "The World's Marathon". The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is an open race with no qualifying time to participate. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley's support for the marathon was enlisted. Although Mayor Daley died, his successor Michael Anthony Bilandic approved the race and got Kelly on board. Michael Bilandic, a runner, and his wife actually passed out medals at the first marathon on September 25, 1977. This first edition of the modern Chicago Marathon was called the Mayor Daley Marathon. Flaherty footed the bill for the first race, which had no sponsors. He again footed the bill in 1978 when the race was again called the Mayor Daley Marathon. In 1979, however, Beatrice Foods became the first race sponsor. In the early years the Chicago Marathon was held in August. The 1979 and 1980 events, however, continued to be gatherings of amateur runners. By 1982, the race finally had sufficient prize money to attract world class athletes. The 1982 was the first with world class times such as the 2:10:59 by Greg Meyer. Although 1986 had 40 world class runners among the 8,000 participants the times paled in comparison. Beatrice dropped out as a sponsor in 1987. Because of this only a half marathon race was held that year and attracted Heileman Brewing Company to sponsor the 1988 Old Style Chicago Marathon. The race resulted in three women who had been passed over for the 1988 Games of the XXIV Olympiad placing in the top positions. In 1991, Heileman discontinued its sponsorship and both the prize money and performances waned. In 1992, the race again had no sponsorship, but 1993 brought new sponsor LaSalle Bank. In 1994, the race became the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. In 1996, LaSalle Bank purchased the Chicago Marathon from Major Events, Inc., who had purchased the race three years prior from Flaherty. In 1998, the race began using transponder timing. In 2001, when Catherine Ndereba broke the women's world record marathon time, both the men's and women's then current world records had been set at the Chicago Marathon. In 2007, Bank of America acquired LaSalle Bank's parent company ABN AMRO North America in 2007 and assumed the race's title sponsorship. The 2007 race made history with the first ever CEO Marathon Challenge. The race featured a special competition among the CEOs, presidents, company owners and c suite executives of companies with at least $5 million in annual gross revenue ($2.5 million for women). The 2007 race also made history for having three (men's, women's & men's wheelchair) of its four races decided in the final 100 meters in a day of record setting heat. The race was partially shut down early (after three and a half hours) as temperatures rose to an unseasonably hot 88 °F (31 °C), which surpassed both the temperature records for the Chicago Marathon and official Chicago records for October 7. Over 10,000 registrants chose not to run in the record temperatures, while 10,934 people did not finish (many were called after the course closed early for safety).

The marathon course is a loop course, starting and ending at Grant Park. From there, the current course winds through 29 of the city's neighborhoods. The course loop can be generally divided into three sections: North, West, and South. In each of these sections, three of the city's main stadiums are near the course's turning points: Wrigley Field to the north; the United Center to the west; and Guaranteed Rate Field to the south. The city's fourth professional stadium, Soldier Field, is located near the start/finish area. For the first three miles, runners wind through Chicago's downtown area. Eventually, they head north along LaSalle Street. Runners are supported by over 12,000 volunteers spread throughout the course including at 20 aid stations located approximate every 1–3 miles. For runners in distress, aid station volunteers include medical staff and ambulatory services are scattered throughout the course. Digital timers are positioned every 5 kilometers, as well as the halfway point.

World records have been broken at Chicago six times. In 1984, Steve Jones broke the world record with 2:08:05. In 1999, Khalid Khannouchi was the first to surpass 2:06:00 with 2:05:42. The men's course record was broken in the 2013 race by Dennis Kimetto with a time of 2:03:45. On October 8, 2023, the late Kelvin Kiptum set a new world record, and therefore also the Chicago course record, completing the course in 2:00:35. The women's record was broken in two consecutive years. In 2001, Catherine Ndereba broke the record in 2:18:47, and Paula Radcliffe surpassed that mark with 2:17:18 the year after. In 2019, Brigid Kosgei won in a world record time of 2:14:04, which was surpassed in 2023 by Sifan Hassan setting a new course record of 2:13:44.

Much of the marathon's impact is derived from the tourism industry. More than 10,000 of the runners in 2010 indicated that it was their first visit to Chicago. Of that, 6,000 came from 100 countries. Due to the travelers, the event increases hotel occupancy rates during the marathon. According to an independent study by the University of Illinois, the 2015 marathon contributed an estimated US$277 million worth of activity to the Chicago economy, equivalent to 1,948 jobs.