How To Watch The Chicago Marathon

Hot on the heels of Tigist Assefa’s world-record breaking run at the Berlin Marathon, we might see more records tumble at the Chicago Marathon this year, with the second-fastest man in history—Kelvin Kiptum—lining up in the men’s field.

Kiptum ran 2hr 1min 25sec to win the London Marathon earlier this year, just 16 seconds slower than Eliud Kipchoge’s record, and while Kiptum himself says he isn’t in shape to set a record in Chicago, we hope that’s just an attempt at lowering expectations. The main rival to Kiptum in Chicago is Benson Kipruto, who won the race last year, while the top male Americans in the field include Galen Rupp and Conner Mantz.

The women’s race is headlined by London Marathon winner Sifan Hassan and last year’s Chicago winner Ruth Chepngetich, both of whom might fancy a crack at Assefa’s Berlin time, and American record holder Emily Sisson, who ran 2hr 18min 29sec to finish second in Chicago last year.

It’s an event all fans of running will want to see, and fortunately it’s not hard to find a live stream for the race.

Chicago Marathon Live Streams

How To Watch The Chicago Marathon For Free

There will be live streams of the Chicago Marathon available on NBC 5 Chicago, Telemundo Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago. You can also watch the race for free on the NBC Chicago 24/7 stream. You can watch the stream through the NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago apps as well as through Apple TV and Roku, with coverage starting at 7am CST.

It is unclear if access to the streams will be blocked if you are not in the US. The Olympic Channel is also streaming the Chicago Marathon but only in certain, unspecified, territories.

How To Watch The Berlin Marathon If You Are Outside Your Country Of Residence

If you’re traveling and unable to access your usual services you can use a VPN to watch the Chicago Marathon. The experts at our sister site TechRadar has tested the top VPN services and recommends ExpressVPN. It’s easy to set up ExpressVPN, which allows you to watch on multiple devices at once, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test the service without committing to a long-term plan.

Chicago Marathon Details

When is the Chicago Marathon 2023?

The Chicago Marathon 2023 is on Sunday October 8th. It’s the fifth World Marathon Major of the year, taking place after Tokyo, Boston, London and Berlin, with the New York City Marathon in November being the final Major of the year.

When does the Chicago Marathon start?

The first wave of runners starts at 7.30am CST, with the wheelchair and handcycle races starting shortly before that time. The second wave of runners starts the race at 8.00am, and the third at 8.30am.

What is the Chicago Marathon route like?

The Chicago Marathon course is flat and fast, with several marathon world records set at the event in the past. The race starts and finishes in Grant Park, with runners heading on a long out and back north to begin the race, before running west and then south to arrive back at Grant Park from the south to finish. There are no significant hills on the course, so if you get the right conditions it is a great opportunity to set a PR.

How can I track runners in the Chicago Marathon?

The Chicago Marathon app allows you to track runners. While it can’t show you their live location, it will display when they cross timing mats located every 5K, at 8km, halfway and the finish.