Editor’s note: Several readers have asked why Rory Linkletter is not included in this preview. Linkletter is not entered in the 2026 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. He raced Chicago in 2025, finishing ninth in a then personal best of 2:06:49, and ran 2:06:04 at the 2026 Boston Marathon. The three Canadian men on this year’s elite start list are Thomas Nobbs, Thomas Fafard and Ben Flanagan. The confusion is due to the Let’s Run homepage snippet asking why Athletics Illustrated did not mention Linkletter.
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Canadians Ben Flanagan, Thomas Fafard and Thomas Nobbs are the three Canadians to watch at the 2026 Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 11.
The course is flat and fast, and the depth of the elite field should provide plenty of opportunities for competitive athletes to find groups and work together. For all three Canadians, Chicago represents a chance to run substantially faster than their previous marathon bests.
Ben Flanagan
The 31-year-old Flanagan, from Kitchener, Ontario, has run just one marathon.
In October 2025, he clocked 2:15:39 in his first attempt at the distance. In any other era, that would be considered a solid start to a marathon career. But with the world record now under two hours and athletes regularly debuting under 2:10, the performance barely registered on the international radar.
Things may be different after Sunday.
Flanagan had been training at roughly 140 km per week (87 miles), although that volume was compromised by a partially torn labrum last summer. He is now reportedly healthy and running higher volumes again.
His best distance to date has been the 5000m, where he owns a personal best of 13:04.62. He has also consistently demonstrated sub-14-minute ability over 5 km on the road.
In 2024, Flanagan relocated to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and began working with coach Jon Green of the Verde Track Club.
His half-marathon performances provide a better indication of his marathon potential. In Houston last year, he ran 1:01:19, just 19 seconds off his 2022 personal best of 1:01:00 in Valencia. He also ran 1:02:23 in Boston in 2024.
On paper, those performances suggest Flanagan is capable of running in the 2:08 to 2:10 range.
The question is whether he can translate that speed to the marathon. Has he done the volume weeks, and long runs?
Chicago will provide the first real answer.
Thomas Fafard
Thomas Fafard of Repentigny, Quebec, has also raced just one marathon.
His debut came at the flat and fast Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona, where he ran 2:10:29 in 2025, setting a Quebec provincial record.
Like Flanagan, Fafard has considerable 5000m pedigree. He ran a lifetime best of 13:05.07 in Brussels two years ago, establishing himself as one of Canada’s fastest distance runners.
Fafard had been targeting a sub-2:12 marathon when he produced his 2:10:29 debut.
Looking back at his training, there is a clear pattern: he appears to keep both volume and intensity under control while incorporating occasional substantial workouts.
One session, for example, included 8 km at roughly 3:05/km pace, followed by two 4 km repetitions at 3:02/km and two 2 km repetitions at 2:55/km. The short bouts at roughly 10 km race pace appear to give him enough intensity without turning the marathon build into a succession of exhausting workouts.
For his second marathon, however, Fafard appears to have become more marathon-specific.
In various podcasts, he has discussed avoiding large jumps in weekly volume because they can compromise the quality of the following weeks. The philosophy is straightforward: consistency is the key.
That consistency may pay off in Chicago.
A 90-second improvement would put Fafard around 2:09 flat.
Thomas Nobbs
So far, every time Thomas Nobbs of Vancouver has raced a marathon, he has become faster.
He debuted in Toronto two years ago in 2:15:22. The following year, at the Marathon Project in Chandler, he ran 2:12:27. Then, at the McKirdy MicroTQ in Rockland State Park, New York, he produced an impressive personal best of 2:09:25.
If consistency is the key, Nobbs has set himself up well for another breakthrough.
In 2026, he has repeatedly pushed his weekly volume above 200 km, maintained it for several weeks, taken a down week and then ramped back up again. In July and September, he reached roughly 230 km and 235 km weeks, surrounded by blocks of 220-plus kilometres.
More recently, 16 of his past 18 weeks have reportedly fallen between 208 and 235 km (128 – 145 miles).
His long runs have been equally impressive, ranging from 37 to 47 km. On Sunday, September 20, he covered 46.02 km at an average pace of roughly 3:40/km.
That is not a normal marathon preparation, but may be the new normal in the proximity of Canadian record holder Cameron Levins (2:05:36).
More importantly, Nobbs has accumulated that work over an extended period rather than attempting to manufacture fitness in a few weeks. This does not look like a make-or-break marathon plan. If his body were going to reject the workload, it probably would have done so already.
Chicago should therefore be another step forward, provided he gets the early pacing right.
His workouts suggest he is looking for considerably more than another marginal improvement. A 10 km workout in 29:31, followed by another 5 km at faster than that pace, points to a level of speed that should support a significant marathon breakthrough.
On August 16 in Edmonton, at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships, Nobbs ran a 22 km effort at roughly 2:57/km while carrying substantial marathon training fatigue. Extrapolated to the official half-marathon distance, that is approximately 62:14.
The question now is how much of that fitness he can carry for 42.195 km.
A 2:06 to 2:07 marathon is a realistic possibility for Nobbs in Chicago.
Of the three Canadians, he may have the most compelling case for a major breakthrough.
Currently, only three Canadian men have run faster than him: Cameron Levins, Ben Preisner, and Rory Linkletter.
Top Canadian men’s marathon times
| Rank | Time | Athlete | Venue / Race | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2:05:36 | Cam Levins | Tokyo Marathon (Japan) | March 5, 2023 |
| 2 | 2:06:04 | Rory Linkletter | Boston Marathon (USA) | April 20, 2026 |
| 3 | 2:06:49 | Rory Linkletter | Chicago Marathon (USA) | October 12, 2025 |
| 4 | 2:06:49 | Cam Levins | Tokyo Marathon (Japan) | March 1, 2026 |
| 5 | 2:07:02 | Rory Linkletter | Boston Marathon (USA) | April 21, 2025 |
| 6 | 2:07:09 | Cam Levins | World Athletics Championships (Eugene, USA) | July 2022 |
| 7 | 2:08:01 | Rory Linkletter | Seville Marathon (Spain) | February 18, 2024 |
| 8 | 2:08:31 | Rory Linkletter | Ottawa Marathon (Canada) | May 26, 2024 |
| 9 | 2:08:58 | Ben Preisner | Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon (Japan) | February 4, 2024 |
| 10 | 2:09:25 | Cam Levins | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (Canada) | October 2018 |
How to watch
Watch the 2026 Bank of America Chicago Marathon live on Sunday, October 11, with television, streaming and radio coverage, including English and Spanish commentary.
Television coverage in the United States
NBC 5 Chicago, Telemundo Chicago and TeleXitos will broadcast the race live from 7:00–11:00 a.m. U.S. Central Time (8:00 a.m.–noon Eastern).
- NBC 5 Chicago: Paul Swangard, Marion Brooks and Stefan Holt will be joined by expert analysts Kara Goucher, Ed Eyestone, Carrie Tollefson and Amanda McGrory.
- Telemundo Chicago: Spanish-language coverage will feature Raul Delgado and Héctor Lozano, alongside Juan Luis Barrios, Luis Posso and Saul Mendoza.
Live streaming
The race’s 48th edition will stream nationally on Peacock and Roku from 7:00–11:00 a.m. Central Time. Extended coverage, including the race broadcast and an additional four hours of finish-line footage, will run from 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Central Time on:
- NBCChicago.com
- TelemundoChicago.com
- The NBC Chicago and Telemundo Chicago mobile apps.
NBC Chicago also lists its YouTube channel among the viewing options. Availability may depend on your location. NBC Chicago
If you’re abroad and experiencing difficulties accessing the live stream from your current location, consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. One option for a VPN service is Pure VPN.
- Get Pure VPN
- Connect to the USA (Chicago) server to watch NBCChicago live.
International coverage
International broadcast partners include:
- FloSports: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
- Eurosport: Europe.
- Eurosport / Eurosport India: Indian subcontinent.
- ESPN: Central America, South America and the Caribbean, including ESPN Brazil and ESPN Latin America.
- SMG: China.
- SuperSport: Sub-Saharan Africa.
Coverage and streaming access vary by territory and provider.
Radio coverage
670 The Score Sports Radio will provide live coverage from 6:00–10:00 a.m. Central Time (7:00–11:00 a.m. Eastern). Josh Liss and expert analysts will deliver race commentary. Listeners can tune in through 670 The Score or the free Audacy app.
Race Day Schedule
| Event | Chicago time | US Eastern |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s professional wheelchair start | 7:20 a.m. | 8:20 a.m. |
| Women’s professional wheelchair start | 7:21 a.m. | 8:21 a.m. |
| Handcycle start | 7:23 a.m. | 8:23 a.m. |
| Men’s and women’s professional start | 7:30 a.m. | 8:30 a.m. |
| High Performance Program start | 7:32 a.m. | 8:32 a.m. |
| Mass participation Wave 1 | 7:35 a.m. | 8:35 a.m. |
| Wave 2 | 8:00 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. |
| Wave 3 | 8:35 a.m. | 9:35 a.m. |
