Thousands of runners are bracing for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, an inaugural city tradition that has bridged over four decades.
The 44th rendition of the city's biggest racing event of the year is scheduled to commence Oct. 9.
Known for its flat and fast course, the race will start and end in Grant Park, taking runners on a grand tour of the city in between their journey.
Along the 26.2-mile trek, runners will be guided across 29 neighborhoods, dozens of historic landmarks and six Chicago River bridges.
The course is expected to be treaded by as many as 40,000 runners, and plenty of supporters are expected to be scattered along the route, too.
Runners who will step off the start line in under a month have secured their spot in the marathon by various means.
The first is qualifying for entry through one of the following:
- Time qualifier: Individuals who have met the event’s age graded qualifying standards or qualify for the event’s American Development Program.
- Legacy finisher: Individuals who have completed the Chicago Marathon five or more times within the last 10 years. The 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Virtual Experience will not be applied to the Legacy finisher application path.
- International Tour Group: International runners (non-U.S.) participating in the 2021 event with an official International Tour Group Program partner. Tour partners typically offer participants a package that includes cost of entry, air travel, hotel, etc. and vary between tour operators.
- Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle Legacy: Individuals who have completed the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K four or more times since 2008 and have signed up for the 2022 Shamrock Shuffle.
Those who did not match any of the qualifications above could have entered through the "non-guaranteed entry" drawing. This selection was completed late last year.
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The final round of entries is available through the charity program entry on a first-come first-served basis until Wednesday, Sept. 14.
All marathon participants are expected to complete the distance in at least six hours and 30 minutes.
NBC 5 Chicago, Telemundo Chicago and TeleXitos will offer complete live TV coverage and live streaming of the marathon in both English and Spanish.
The live television broadcasts will air from 7 to 11 a.m., and the live stream will be available at nbcchicago.com and telemundochicago.com, on the NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago apps, and on the stations’ Roku and Apple TV channels from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
