The Chicago Marathon is an elite race that many runners want to compete in. To do so, however, they must adhere to the marathon’s rules. The rules are set by the marathon’s organizers to keep participants safe, meet government rules and restrictions, and comply with World Athletics and USA Track & Field (USATF) regulations. People who wish to participate in the marathon should become familiar with these rules.
To be eligible for the marathon, runners must be able to complete the course in six and a half hours. The marathon offers guaranteed entry to runners who meet specific time qualifying standards at other marathons. There are different standards for male and female runners of different age groups. For example, for the 2020 Chicago Marathon, the qualifying time for men aged 16-29 years was 3:05 hours, and for women within that age bracket was 3:35 hours. The qualifying time for men aged 30-39 years was 3:10 hours, and for women in that age bracket was 3:40 hours. Runners who met these times in a marathon they ran in the previous year could apply for guaranteed entry.
Runners who did not meet these qualifying times could still apply for entry if they had posted the minimum times in half-marathon races, had run and completed the Chicago Marathon at least five times over the last decade, or had completed at least four Shamrock Shuffle 8K races since 2008.
The marathon is not closed to people who do not run competitively, though. Runners who do not meet any of the running-related standards can still gain entry by applying to run for a charity or as part of a tour group.
To apply, runners must be at least 16 years old on race day. They apply by completing and submitting a registration form as well as an event waiver. Runners who are under 18 must have a parent or guardian submit their registration form and event waiver. Registration open dates are announced every year, and they remain open until maximum participant capacity is reached.
Runners who are eventually selected to run the marathon are required to pay an entry fee and are designated event number bibs to act as personal identifiers on race day. Runners must individually pick their bib numbers in the scheduled time period, providing photo identification to verify their identities. They will be required to display this bib number prominently on the front of their running attire during the race. Sale or transfer of bib numbers is strictly prohibited and will lead to the disqualification of a runner and possibly their ban from future events. A timing device is attached to each runner’s bib number, which must be worn correctly during the race.
On race day, runners will be designated to particular start corrals depending on their time qualifying standards. All participants are made aware of their start corral assignments before race day and are required to be at their corral point in the allotted time to officially start the marathon. Runners who enter the race improperly are automatically disqualified.
During the race, runners are required to maintain a pace of at least 15 minutes per mile all the way to the finish line to be recorded and published as official finishers. Those who finish outside the 6.5-hour mark are not officially recorded.
Course marshals and event officials monitor runners during the race. Those who are found to have benefited from an unfair advantage such as shortening the route or receiving assistance using a communication device will be disqualified. Further, all runners are subject to USATF anti-doping rules. Violating these rules will lead to disqualification of the athlete’s results and, where applicable, the forfeiture of all awards.
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