Chicago Marathon 2016 – A Quick Glimpse at a Top Marathon

A quick glimpse into the Chicago marathon, which has been regarded as one of the top marathons in the world. The annual marathon is a great tradition in many parts of the world, and one of the best such marathon events is the Chicago Marathon. The first edition of the race was held in 1977 and the Chicago Marathon 2016 will be the 39th edition. Only 4500 runners featured in the first race, but the overwhelming growth in popularity means that the current edition is limited to 45,000 runners at the most.

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Only runners who complete the event within 6½ hours are taken into the official figures. The event accepts only limited Chicago marathon registration, but this rule is not applicable for elite runners. The Chicago Marathon has always been a major source of fundraising for charities.

Key Details

Grant Park marks the beginning and end of the Chicago Marathon. Passing through 29 city neighbourhoods, it is possible to divide the race into three sections – north, south, and west. The race passes through some of the important stadiums like the Wrigley Field, United Center, and Cellular Field. These undoubtedly have played a role in improving the attractiveness of the Chicago Marathon course. There are 20 aid stations part of the event and these are spaced out between 1-3 miles of each other.

Average finish times have increased in recent years and the 2016 event is expected to be no better. From an average finish time of around 4 hours and 20 minutes, it has risen to around 4 hours and 30 minutes. In terms of average participation, the 2014 event would rank as the most popular after 40,801 runners featured in the event with an average finish time of 4:33:03. Marathon Chicago has always been popular amongst male runners with female runners only occupying a small demographic. Most of the runners belong to middle to upper-middle-class status.

World Records & Favourites

Over the years, four world records have been broken at the event. This has been a major factor in the increase of popularity for marathons in Chicago. The first world record to fall – courtesy of the Chicago marathon – was in 1984. Dennis Kimetto holds the record for the world and Chicago marathon. Unfortunately, he will not be present at the 2016 event and this is likely to affect the best odds quite significantly. Part of the reason is the absence of other top names due to injuries.

The Chicago Marathon officials issued a press release on August 25 stating that 5-time Chicago Marathon title holder and 3-time Paralympic gold medalist Kurt Fearnley (AUS) and 17-time Abbott World Marathon Majors winner and 6-time Chicago Marathon champion McFadden Tatyana will return to compete at the 39th annual event. 2015 Chicago Marathon champion and half-marathon world record-holder Florence Kiplagat (from Kenya) will return to compete for the crown at the 2016 Chicago Marathon.

US marathon runner Diego Estrada will also be present at the event.

In the women's field, Valentine Kipketer (Kenya), Atsede Baysa (Ethiopia) and Gulume Chala (Ethiopia) plan to make it extremely difficult for Kiplagat to defend her title. What you need to know if you're planning to bet on the Chicago Marathon - Baysa - who will line up for the 4th time in this race - stands out as Florence Kiplagat's main challenger.

Even though some big names are absent from the event, there is no doubt that punters, who search for betting tips, will continue to place a lot of importance to the tournament.