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The Chicago Marathon organizers notified applicants for the 2025 edition on Thursday whether they had been accepted or not. Over 160,000 athletes applied for the next race, which will be held on October 12, 2025. Those who are accepted will join approximately 53,000 others on the start line.

110,000 athletes to seek alternative races

Applicants will now likely begin the process of seeking an opportunity to go for an autumn-based Marathon Majors elsewhere. Races such as Berlin, New York or Sydney. Meanwhile, there are many smaller marathons worth travelling to. These include races in Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beijing, Amsterdam, Toronto, Victoria, Canada, and Venice, Italy, to name a few.

While a global running boom is happening, there are many other races available. At the same time, a growing number of races cap their fields. For example, the Royal Victoria Marathon (same day as Chicago) sold out the marathon and half-marathon in 2024. Organizers expect that to happen again. Meanwhile, the popular Marathon Majors almost always sell out. Destination and age group competitive runners seek to run all six (now seven) Majors events. Sydney in September has been added to the group. Cape Town and Shanghai may make it eight and nine.

Chicago is popular for a reason

Chicago is popular for the same reasons that fellow Majors events are: speed. The races offer flat and fast courses and running all Majors events is a major goal of boomer and Gen X-age athletes. Fast majors are London, Berlin and Tokyo.

In 2019 Kenyan, Brigid Kosgei broke Paula Radcliffe’s world record with her 2:14:04 performance in Chicago. The 2024 edition saw the unlikely world record of *2:09:56 by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich. In 2023, Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum broke Eliud Kipchoge’s world record clocking *2:00:35. Doing so, put the two-hour barrier under threat (in a sanctioned race, Kipchoge has done so in a time trial).

In 1984, Welshman, Steve Jones, set the world record at 2:08:05 in Chicago. This performance put the race on the global map. The following year, Jones ran 2:07:13 on the course. Moroccan-American, Khalid Kannouchi, clocked a 2:05:42 in 1999 in Chicago. It was a new world record and Kannouchi became the talk of the running community.

All eyes were now on the windy city’s dead-flat course.

The town is perhaps known as much for its pizza culture as it is for the wind. Nowadays it’s fast marathon event. However, downtown has tall buildings that can create a wind-tunnel effect off Lake Michigan. Some years, personal bests are thrown into the breeze, others it’s calm; racing Chicago is a gamble.

While 110,000 or more people were turned down for the 2025 Chicago Marathon, 53,000 will now scramble to book hotels, planes, trains and automobiles. In some cases holidays from work.

List of AIMS-accredited marathons

*Asterisk indicates time achieved with athletes wearing super shoes.

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