Chicago Half Marathon
Runners on Lake Shore Drive in the Kenwood community area on the South Side of Chicago (2007)
Dateevery September
LocationChicago, Illinois, United States
Event typeRoad
DistanceHalf marathon
EstablishedOctober 5, 1997
Course records- (men)
- (women)
Official sitewww.chicagohalfmarathon.com

The Chicago Half Marathon or Chicago Half Marathon & 5K is an annual half marathon and 5k run occurring in September on the South Side of Chicago. The race takes place on a largely out-and-back course along Lake Shore Drive with views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline.

The race is regarded as a premier half marathon event, with Runner's World naming it as one of the top 10 half marathons in the United States.[1] Susan Nicholl is the race director and founder of the event.[2] With 20,000 registrants and 13,537 finishers in 2009,[3] the race bills itself as the fifth largest half marathon in the United States and the 21st largest road running event in the country.[4]

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, this race is known as "The People's Race".[5]

Overview

The course passes by or through several of the most prominent parts of the Chicago Park District on the South Side including Midway Plaissance, Jackson Park and Burnham Park. The route passes through several community areas: Woodlawn, the South Shore border, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland, and Douglas.[6] The first running October 5, 1997 occurred along the Lake Michigan lakefront and finished in Grant Park.[7] In 1998, the race moved to the South Side course that begins and ends near the Museum of Science and Industry.[8] That year's race, which had 4100 runners, was part of the USA Track & Field state championship series, crowning the state half marathon champions.[9] The race is now listed as one of three half marathons in Chicago.[10]

Some runners, including 2009 winner Patrick Rizzo, use the race to prepare for the Chicago Marathon.[11] Others, such as four-time winner Chris Wehrman, have used it as a tuneup for the New York City Marathon.[12] The 2004 edition of the race, which had 9,000 runners, served as the USA Track and Field State Championship.[13]

The first race, which had over 3000 competitors, was won by Grzegorz Olszowik of Willowbrook, Illinois (1:09.46) and 1996 Marathon Olympian Jenny Spangler of Gurnee, Illinois (1:20.19).[14] Greg Costello won the race three consecutive times from 2006-2008.[15] Chris Wehrman won the race 4 times in 5 years between 2000 and 2004.[12] In 2006, Banco Popular became the title sponsor of what was called the Banco Popular Chicago Half Marathon presented by the Illinois Agents of Farmers Insurance.[16] It continued as sponsor until 2008 when the race was known as the Banco Popular Chicago Half Marathon & 5K.[17]

In 2022, the City of Chicago requested that the route be shortened just before the start of the race. A city spokesperson claimed that the change was necessary to “ensure the safety of race participants due to a conflict with vehicles around 31st Street,” which was related to traffic from the Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field. The race organizers did not inform any participants until after the race. The change resulted in a course that was 12.6 miles long.[18]

Past winners

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
252022 Matthew Baxter (USA)1:01:54† [lower-alpha 1] Jessica Hruska (USA)1:16:53† [lower-alpha 1]
242021 Henry Mierzwa (USA)1:08:17 Polina Hodnette (USA)1:21:32
242020cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
232019 James Wilson (USA)1:06:02 Jane Bareikis (USA)1:16:38
222018 Dan Kremske (USA)1:07:04 Jane Bareikis (USA)1:17:13
212017 Damon King (USA)1:12:26 Courtney Peterson (USA)1:23:53
202016 Alan Peterson (USA)1:07:21 Jamie Hershfang (USA)1:20:32
192015 Ian LaBelle (USA)1:13:09 Kristina Aubert (USA)1:17:40
182014 Keith Bechtol (USA)1:06:52 Kristen Heckert (USA)1:17:35
172013 Thomas Frazer (USA)1:07:22 Megan O'Neil (USA)1:10:18
162012 Thomas Frazer (USA)1:07:12 Meagan Nedlo (USA)1:18:21
152011 Abdelaziz Atmani (MAR)1:06:03 Becca Prichard (USA)1:19:07
142010 Nathan Krah (USA)1:07:11 Andrea Pomaranski (USA)1:13:15
132009 Patrick Rizzo (USA)1:07:48 Melissa White (USA)1:14:55
122008 Greg Costello (USA)1:07:59 Amanda Domich (USA)1:20:58
112007 Greg Costello (USA)1:08:11 Suzanne Ryan (USA)1:21:48
102006 Greg Costello (USA)1:07:03 Stephanie Dueringer (USA)1:18:01
92005 Jeremy Borling (USA)1:10:16 Courtney Babcock-Key (USA)1:18:05
82004 Chris Wehrman (USA)1:07:06 Kim Miltz (USA)1:19:38
72003 Andrzey Krzyscin (POL)1:05:53 Susan Loken (USA)1:19:12
62002 Chris Wehrman (USA)1:06:57 Kim Miltz (USA)1:21:12
52001 Chris Wehrman (USA)1:07:31 Lorraine Masuoka (USA)1:19:13
42000 Chris Wehrman (USA)1:08:02 Ann Schaefers-Coles (USA)1:20:03
31999 Grzegorz Olszowik (POL)1:07:57 Cindy James (USA)1:22:40
21998 Mark Jung-Beeman (USA)1:09:51 Cindy James (USA)1:17:13

Notes

  1. 1 2 Course cut short, 12.6 miles (not complete half-marathon)
  1. ↑ "Illinois > Chicago Half Marathon & 5K". HalfMarathons.Net. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ Houlihan, Mike (September 19, 2004). "Half Marathon: 'It's a very sexy race'". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 24.
  3. ↑ "2009 Chicago Half Marathon & 5K - Half Marathon". The Active Network, Inc. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  4. ↑ "14th Annual Chicago Half Marathon & 5K". Chicago Half Marathon. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  5. ↑ "The Mix". Chicago Sun-Times. September 11, 1998. p. 3.
  6. ↑ "14th Annual Chicago Half Marathon & 5K Course Map" (PDF). Chicago Half Marathon. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Tulsa coach heads to FSU". Chicago Sun-Times. July 1, 1997. p. 76.
  8. ↑ Hamel, Larry (September 13, 1998). "New entries strengthen Chicago Marathon field". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 24.
  9. ↑ Hamel, Larry (September 14, 1998). "Jung-Beeman wins half-marathon". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 82.
  10. ↑ "Upcoming Illinois Half Marathons". Running in the USA. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  11. ↑ Bowman, Dale (September 14, 2009). "Former water boy wins men's title". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 57.
  12. 1 2 Ziehm, Len (September 20, 2004). "CHICAGO HALF MARATHON Full speed ahead: Wehrman, Miltz not half bad // Chicago attorney, Hoffman Estates teacher win easily". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 97.
  13. ↑ Ziehm, Len (September 18, 2004). "CHICAGO HALF MARATHON Four-time Boston winner Rodgers spices field". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 95.
  14. ↑ Jackson, Brian (October 6, 1997). "Spangler back in action". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 79.
  15. ↑ Bowman, Dale (September 11, 2009). "In favorite 13.1-miler, Costello no stranger to 'Who's on first?'". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 51.
  16. ↑ Lazare, Lewis (April 27, 2006). "Candy bar ad's target age seems to be its number: 5". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 59.
  17. ↑ "The mix - Cool things to do". Chicago Sun-Times. September 12, 2008. p. NC3.
  18. ↑ "Runners feel shortchanged after Sunday's Chicago Half Marathon was shortened by a half-mile". Chicago Tribune. September 30, 2022.
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