On December 8, the Chicago Marathon announced that 45,000 participants will start the 2023 edition of the historic race. The field size honors the marathon’s 45th anniversary. Additionally, one of the 2023 participants will cross the finish line as the Chicago Marathon’s significant one-millionth finisher.
“We’re thrilled to host 45,000 participants for the first time since 2019 at the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon,” Carey Pinkowski, Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director, said in a press release. “As part of our millionth-finisher field, these participants will write their names in the event’s history book during a particularly special year. We look forward to celebrating their performances, as well as the contributions of the volunteers, spectators and community members who have made the Chicago Marathon the world-class racing tradition it is today.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago Marathon was canceled in 2020. The field size shrunk to 26,112 finishers in 2021 for continued COVID-19 precaution. This year’s race on October 9 featured 39,420 finishers. The 2023 Chicago Marathon returns to its pre-pandemic field size. In 2019, 45,956 runners completed the 26.2-mile course.
The Chicago Marathon is a famously fast race. World records have been broken five times on the streets of the Windy City. The most recent record-breaking performance occurred in 2019, when Brigid Kosgei ran 2:14:04. Kosgei’s record still stands today.
Chris Hatler is the Deputy Editor of Esquire. He previously served as the Senior Editor of Men’s Journal and Features Editor of Popular Mechanics.
