Member-only story
The 2025 Chicago Marathon by the Numbers
The race of records once again lives up to the hype
Last weekend was the 2025 Chicago Marathon. In each of the previous two years, Chicago was home to a new world record. This year, while there were murmurs of another world record attempt, the real eyes were on a different record: Khalid Khannouchi’s 2002 American record.
Not a Medium subscriber? Click here, and I’ll send you a link to read this article.
While the elites were worried about records, the masses were worried about the weather. The initial forecast looked warm, but things improved over the course of the week. It turned out to be a nice enough race day, but some people still wondered if the sun and afternoon heat would have an impact on the later waves.
This was also the first race with a new set of qualifying times that significantly tightened the guaranteed entry options for Chicago. Following registration, those times were immediately dropped a second time for 2026. What does all this mean for the field?
After each of the Majors, I collect the results and write up an analysis exploring some interesting questions in the data. The analysis below is based on the unofficial results as of Thursday, October 16, and the numbers may change slightly as things are finalized.
