The Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2023 took place last Sunday morning.
Start and end at Grant Park
The 45th edition of the annual race in Chicago, the race started and ended in Grant Park, Chicago, and the race is one of the six prestigious Abbott’s World Marathon Majors. The others are Boston, New York, Tokyo, London and Berlin.
The race is huge
In the days leading up to the race, I found myself pretty overwhelmed by how big the marathon is here in Chicago. Throughout race weekend, the marathon was taking over the whole city. 
There were signs to welcome marathon runners plastered all over the city, such as at the airport, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and even at a Walgreens store along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. It was as though marathon runners were being treated as celebrities. 
Even the hotel that we were staying at had implemented a Marathon Zone which comprised of things such as massages, nutritional marathon-related food and drinks and even a shake-out run before the race. It was all pretty amazing.
Race Morning
The marathon flagged off at 7:23am in the morning, on Sunday 8 October. I was assigned to wave one, corral C, which meant that my corral closed at 7:20am. I was assigned to Gate 3, meaning we were recommended to get out of the train at Jackson Station.
The first wave runners were actually advised to report at 5:30am for mandatory pre-race bag check. But I couldn’t drag myself out of bed, so I didn’t reach the race area till 6:20am. I had thought that an hour would be enough time, but I guess it turns out I was wrong. 
Temperatures and my body
The temperature in Chicago at the start time was about 7 degrees C which felt cold at the beginning, but is considered as the perfect temperature for running a marathon. The weather really couldn’t be better, with 12 degrees being forecasted as the maximum. 
Unfortunately my body condition was sadly not optimum for marathon running, with me having flu symptoms of runny nose, cough and phlegm prior to the race.
Thankfully mine was not Covid, but it was still not the condition that I wanted to be in, leading up to the Chicago Marathon. I’d had big goals for this race, but the original plans had to be shelved due to this. 
Physically I felt ok to run on on race morning, but I didn’t think pushing for a personal best would be a wise move despite the good weather. It somewhat felt like a wasted opportunity.
Nonetheless, I really need to be careful with regards to my health before a key race and try not to pick up any viruses. 
Long queues for pre race check
The pre-race bag check took about 30 minutes. It was significantly longer than I had expected, due to the long queues. I was panicking a bit that I would miss my corral closing time, but fortunately I made it in time, entering the corrals at around 7.10am. Luckily there was no queue to drop off my bag and I was in out within a couple of minutes. 
I saw the sheer length of the toilet queues and it was so scary that I gave up immediately, deciding not to go as I knew I would not have time. There are always other ways to relieve oneself without waiting in line for a portable loo.
Start was punctual
The race flagged off punctually at 7:23am with the handcycle athletes, followed by the elites at 7:30am.
The flag off was preceded by the singing of the American national anthem.
There was a strong field of elites running Chicago, including Kelvin Kiptum, Galen Rupp, Sifan Hassan, Emily Sisson and Molly Seidel. It was a star-studded field. 
Then we were flagged off from 7:30am in staggered wave starts. My own run began at about 7.44am.
It was surreal
At the beginning, it felt quite surreal to be running in the Chicago Marathon. I could barely believe that I was here. 
I have heard a lot of stuff about this race, ranging from world records to the fanatical crowd support and brilliant atmosphere. For me to actually be a part of it myself, felt quite incredible and unreal.
Spectator support was amazing
Right from the get-go, Chicago did not fail to deliver in terms of the atmosphere. 
The spectator support was truly amazing, with the whole course lined with throngs of people cheering on the runners. The support did not let up at all through the entire 42.195km (26.2 miles) of running. It was definitely one of the most well-supported races that I’ve ever done.
City route
The race route was a city loop route, bringing us from Grant Park through areas such as River North, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Little Italy and Chinatown, before returning to the finish at Grant Park.
I thought the course was not as flat as many people have made it out to be, as there were a number of gentle slopes and several bridges along the way. Now that I have run it, I personally think the Gold Coast Marathon and Berlin Marathon both are flatter than Chicago.
My pacing
In terms of my own pacing, I knew immediately that my body wasn’t feeling up to scratch to hit my A goal. Instead I just decided to run it purely based on feel, aiming to complete the marathon and collect my Chicago star. 
The spontaneity of the crowd helped to some degree to take my brain off the monotony of the running and give me something to concentrate on.
At the same time too, I’m a huge football fan so I had my earphones plugged into the live audio commentary of two of the English Premier League games that were taking place at the same time as the marathon. These were Brighton v Liverpool followed by Arsenal v Man City. 
Distance markings
I saw distance markers located prominently at every mile. With regard to kilometres, I did see regular markings too, but I don’t think I saw them positioned at every kilometre. At least I had my watch to mark the distance, and the GPS was accurate enough.
I have heard negative reports that the GPS signals at the Chicago city area can go completely haywire and mess up, but the GPS didn’t seem so bad based on my own experience. 
Great hydration stations
The hydration stations were excellent. The tables were very long and the volunteers were on the ball with regards to holding and handing out cups of drink to runners. So there was no congestion. As well, it was clearly indicated where the Gatorade and the water was here so that we would not take the wrong cup. 
A couple of times, I did have runners who barged in front of me to take a hydration, but in such cases, I was able to get a cup from the next volunteer who was alert and on the ball to hand me the hydration, making the process of taking hydration smoother than I had initially anticipated.
Besides water and Gatorade, there were also energy gels and cut bananas at selected aid stations. I didn’t take any of these, but I thought it was a good move on the organiser’s part to pre-cut the bananas into small slices that runners could easily put into our mouth without having to peel them. This saves time and effort that could otherwise spent on running. 
Half Way
I crossed the halfway mark in 1 hour 56 mins. At least I was still on target for my B goal of sub 4 hours.
Kevin Kiptum World Record
While I was out there running, a new world record was being set in Chicago. At least I can say that I had been there running the exact same marathon on the exact same day as Kevin Kiptum when he smashed the marathon world record, finishing the Chicago Marathon in 02 hours 00 minutes 35 seconds. It was surreal and once again, made me pinch myself that I was really here in Chicago.
Chicago Bulls
I think my pace slowed down in the second half. Soon after crossing the half, we passed by the United Stadium, home of the Chicago Bulls.
What really got my attention here was a person dressed up as the club’s bull mascot waving and cheering runners on. I didn’t manage to take a picture, but it was pretty cool.
Honestly there had been some pretty interesting signs along the way from the spectators. Some of these included, “you run better than the government” and “remember, you paid for this.” Some were funny and hilarious, while others were motivating. As a marathoner, I really appreciated the spectators fully embracing the marathon and coming out with these to bring a smile to the faces of total strangers. 
Second half begins to blur
From around the 25 or 26km mark onwards, the rest of the race went by in a blur. I didn’t really take any photos or videos anymore. My arms were getting too tired to hold my phone. So the phone stayed firmly inside my pocket.
By this point, I just wanted the run to end. I didn’t know if I was still on pace for a sub 4 timing. According to my watch, I was, so I just told myself to keep going and don’t stop. I was aware that there could be GPS errors though, which could meant my pace may be off. 
I only knew that my brain was beginning to tune out and my body was getting tired and achy. My nose was running faster than my legs. I was so tired that I almost tripped on one of the many potholes on the road too, but luckily my tired, aching body and legs managed to muster up the strength to steady themselves in time so I was fortunate I didn’t face-plant on the ground.
32km down, 10.2km to go
Once we hit 32km, my mind was no longer functioning. I thought that Arsenal v Man City would keep me alert, but it didn’t. I found myself barely listening to the game. Checking my watch, I realised I had to run at sub 6 mins pace per km for the final 10km if I wanted to hit sub 4.
I vaguely remember running into Chicago Chinatown in the last section of the race and seeing a sign welcoming marathon runners to Chinatown. There were also Chinese themed elements among the spectator crowd during this segment of the race, such as a band that I vaguely recalled was playing Chinese songs. it was a nice touch to the marathon.
I realised that my pace was slowing down, so at this point, I had to grit my teeth and force myself to pick up the pace. I had once come agonisingly close to missing out on a sub 4 marathon by a mere 10 seconds, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again a second time.
Mind Games
The final stretch played mind games with me mentally. This was because it was an out-and-back section. It meant that while the finish line was so tantalisingly close, the u-turn felt as though it went on forever. I really had to muster every ounce of strength I had, to keep on moving.
Eventually I made it, and the u-turn was in sight. I saw the sign saying 800m to go. I had just under 5 minutes to cover 800m. My legs were feeling quite tired and sore by this point, but I gave it all I had, grit my teeth and sprinted to the finish line. 
Finishing at last
Finally the finish line loomed. I ran through the gate. I finished the Chicago Marathon. Nett time 03 hours 59 minutes 06 seconds according to the official marathon app.
Sub 4. With less than one minute to spare. 
Honestly… I really don’t recommend running a marathon with flu symptoms though. Running a marathon is already a hard enough thing to do when you’re in perfectly good health and shape. It wasn’t the A goal timing I was originally hoping for, but I’m just glad my body was able to finish the marathon and get me my star. 
Athlete welfare area
After finishing, we were slowly ushered towards the athlete welfare area, where we collected a bottle of water, our race medals and a ton of goodies. We also received aluminium blankets to wrap ourselves with to stay warm. These included apples, bananas, donuts, sweets, and more. It was extremely generous of the organisers to provide so much refreshments after the race and I really appreciated it. This level is really the difference between a World Marathon Major and other races that I have participated in. 
There were large signages that warned us that once we left the athlete welfare area, we would not be allowed to go back inside. By this point I needed to collect my baggage containing my jacket and powerbank as my phone was dying, so I had no choice but to leave. It was 12 degrees around this point and I wasn’t cold yet, but I knew that I would be. 
Queues and organisation
The queues to claim our baggage were long again but fortunately didn’t take me as long as the queue to enter Grant Park in the early morning. If there was one fault I could mention about Chicago Marathon’s organisation, it is the queues. I later heard that the queues were a result of Chicago Marathon trialing an experiment in expanding their field size to over 46,000 runners. 
But apart from the queues, the organisation throughout the event was spotless. Chicago Marathon is a flawless event for the average marathoner and they really have everything running like clockwork. The spectator support was also second to none, and it felt like nothing I’ve experienced before. In terms of spectators and crowds, Chicago definitely beats Berlin.
Chicago Marathon is one of the best
After collecting my baggage, I headed out towards the Memorial Fountain to pose for and take a few pictures with my medal, while waiting for my friend to finish running. It didn’t really help in contacting people when my 5G network at the memorial fountain was spotty and almost non-existent. Perhaps too many people were trying to access the network at the same time. 
As a whole, I definitely had a great time at the Chicago Marathon. The race itself may have been hard for me, but there were so many other elements that made this race good, ranging from the amazing spectator support to the almost flawless logistics. The race experience definitely is considered to be among the best marathons in the world.
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