Chicago Half Marathon

The Chicago Half Marathon is one of the most premier races from around the globe. The half and 5-kilometer events take place in September, just as the leaves are beginning to turn and the city comes alive with sweater weather and fall festivities. More than 14,000 runners register for the half marathon alone, which makes for a considerable crowd of racers, and spectators around the city.Named as one of the top ten with reason, you can’t beat the atmosphere or the excitement of the town as runners make their way from start to finish. Running up the most crowded roadway in the nation, Lake Shore Drive is shut down for 13.1 miles of the course, which offers participants a fantastic view of the skyline and all the glory of the most miraculous skyscrapers that Chicago is known for. There is nothing like the Midwestern friendliness or the numerous fans that are quick to cheer on racers and give them a helping hand to make it across the finish line.

The out-and-back course starts and finishes at Jackson Park, next to the Museum of Science and Industry inside the park, and follows its first couple of miles on a run around the perimeter of the park, along Cornell Avenue, Stony Island Drive and Marquette Drive. After taking runners around the southern end of the park, the course then turns northward for the next stretch of the race, which unfolds entirely along Lake Shore Drive toward Burnham Park. Once runners make it the three miles to Burnham Park, they reach the turnaround and begin the final three-mile stretch of the race back to the finish line at Jackson Park. As you might expect, the race is run entirely on paved surfaces throughout the city streets of Chicago, which provides a very runner- and spectator-friendly environment for the race. Friends and family to see runners at the start, at mile 3, near the front of the museum near mile 4 and along Lake Shore Drive and by the east side of the museum near the 57th Street beach.

The Chicago Half Marathon gives you the chance to run on traffic restricted Lake Shore Drive! This scenic 13.1-mile course starts in Historic Jackson Park, site of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, and winds through the beautiful Hyde Park neighborhood and University of Chicago campus. The course then takes runners along Chicago’s south Lake Shore Drive, taking in the views of Lake Michigan, Chicago skyline and the Science and Industry Museum campus before a triumphant finish at the golden Statue of the Republic.

Gear check is located in Jackson Park. Please use the bag and label provided in your packet.

Aid stations serve both water and Gatorade Endurance formula. There will be 10 aid stations along the course and at the start/finish. All stations on the course are single sided and will have medical personnel and portable toilets located nearby.

Organizers present awards to the top finishers in the following age divisions: 12 and under, 13-15, 16-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69,

Due to the busy nature of Lake Shore Drive -- the street is home to several churches, parks, lake harbors and a golf course -- race organizers ask that participants keep at least a 13-minute-per-mile pace, and finish in just under three hours (which means runners only, no walkers).