Bank of America Chicago Marathon – Course Map and Elevation Profile
| Distance | 42.195 km |
|---|---|
| Route elevation | 33 m up · 30 m down |
| Highest point | 184 m · 42.2 km |
| Lowest point | 178 m · 0.7 km |
| Steepest climb | +0.7 % · 42.2 km |
| Steepest descent | −1.1 % · 0.0 km |
| Net elevation change | +2 m |
| Course type | Loop |
| Course record men | 2:00:35 · Kelvin Kiptum · 8 October 2023 |
| Course record women | no verified figure |
33 metres of climbing over the full distance, with 99 % of the course under one per cent gradient. This is about as flat as a marathon gets.
Course
Chicago in numbers
- Distance
- 42.195km
- Ascent
- 33m
- Descent
- 30m
- Low / high
- 178 / 184m
- Flat-equivalent
- +0.20 %
- Steepest 50 m
- +0.7 %
Pace Planner
bergauf flach bergabWaagerecht: Distanz. Streifen unter dem Profil: mittlere Steigung je 500 m. Gestrichelte Linien sind Orientierungspunkte.
- Position
- 0.00 km
- Elevation
- 182 m
- Gradient
- −1.1 %
- Pace here
- 4:57 /km
- Elapsed
- 0:00
- Remaining
- 3:30:00
- Landmark
- —
Pacing table
| km | Point | Elevation | Gradient | up / down | Target pace | total | adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 182 m → 179 m | −0.33 % | +1 m / −4 m | 4:57 | 4:57 | 4:58 | |
| 2 | 179 m → 179 m | +0.05 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:59 | 9:56 | 4:58 | |
| 3 | 179 m → 182 m | +0.28 % | +3 m / −0 m | 5:02 | 14:58 | 4:58 | |
| 4 | 182 m → 181 m | −0.04 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:58 | 19:56 | 4:58 | |
| 5 | 181 m → 180 m | −0.18 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:57 | 24:53 | 4:58 | |
| 6 | 180 m → 180 m | −0.01 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:58 | 29:51 | 4:58 | |
| 7 | 180 m → 181 m | +0.19 % | +2 m / −0 m | 5:01 | 34:52 | 4:58 | |
| 8 | 181 m → 182 m | +0.06 % | +1 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 39:51 | 4:58 | |
| 9 | 182 m → 180 m | −0.17 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:57 | 44:48 | 4:58 | |
| 10 | 180 m → 181 m | +0.04 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:59 | 49:47 | 4:58 | |
| 11 | 181 m → 179 m | −0.17 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:57 | 54:44 | 4:58 | |
| 12 | 179 m → 179 m | +0.02 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:59 | 59:43 | 4:58 | |
| 13 | 179 m → 180 m | +0.11 % | +1 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 1:04:42 | 4:58 | |
| 14 | 180 m → 180 m | +0.01 % | +0 m / −0 m | 4:58 | 1:09:40 | 4:58 | |
| 15 | 180 m → 182 m | +0.15 % | +2 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 1:14:41 | 4:58 | |
| 16 | 182 m → 183 m | +0.12 % | +1 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 1:19:40 | 4:58 | |
| 17 | 183 m → 182 m | −0.08 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 1:24:38 | 4:58 | |
| 18 | 182 m → 182 m | −0.08 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 1:29:35 | 4:58 | |
| 19 | 182 m → 180 m | −0.16 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:57 | 1:34:32 | 4:58 | |
| 20 | 180 m → 179 m | −0.07 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:58 | 1:39:29 | 4:58 | |
| 21 | 179 m → 178 m | −0.12 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 1:44:27 | 4:58 | |
| 22 | Halbmarathon | 178 m → 179 m | +0.10 % | +1 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 1:49:26 | 4:58 |
| 23 | 179 m → 181 m | +0.15 % | +2 m / −0 m | 5:01 | 1:54:27 | 4:58 | |
| 24 | 181 m → 181 m | +0.06 % | +1 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 1:59:26 | 4:58 | |
| 25 | 181 m → 180 m | −0.15 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:57 | 2:04:23 | 4:58 | |
| 26 | 180 m → 180 m | +0.04 % | +1 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 2:09:21 | 4:58 | |
| 27 | 180 m → 180 m | −0.04 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:58 | 2:14:19 | 4:58 | |
| 28 | 180 m → 180 m | +0.07 % | +1 m / −1 m | 5:00 | 2:19:19 | 4:58 | |
| 29 | 180 m → 181 m | +0.03 % | +0 m / −0 m | 4:58 | 2:24:17 | 4:58 | |
| 30 | 181 m → 181 m | +0.01 % | +0 m / −0 m | 4:58 | 2:29:15 | 4:58 | |
| 31 | 181 m → 183 m | +0.20 % | +2 m / −0 m | 5:01 | 2:34:16 | 4:58 | |
| 32 | 183 m → 181 m | −0.14 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 2:39:13 | 4:58 | |
| 33 | 181 m → 180 m | −0.18 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:57 | 2:44:10 | 4:58 | |
| 34 | 180 m → 181 m | +0.15 % | +2 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 2:49:10 | 4:58 | |
| 35 | 181 m → 181 m | −0.02 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:59 | 2:54:09 | 4:58 | |
| 36 | 181 m → 181 m | +0.02 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:59 | 2:59:08 | 4:58 | |
| 37 | 181 m → 181 m | +0.04 % | +1 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 3:04:07 | 4:58 | |
| 38 | 181 m → 182 m | +0.02 % | +0 m / −0 m | 4:58 | 3:09:05 | 4:58 | |
| 39 | 182 m → 181 m | −0.08 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 3:14:02 | 4:58 | |
| 40 | 181 m → 181 m | −0.01 % | +0 m / −0 m | 4:58 | 3:19:00 | 4:58 | |
| 41 | 181 m → 182 m | +0.13 % | +1 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 3:24:00 | 4:58 | |
| 42 | 182 m → 183 m | +0.08 % | +2 m / −1 m | 5:00 | 3:29:00 | 4:58 | |
| 42.20 | 183 m → 184 m | +0.62 % | +1 m / −0 m | 5:08 | 3:30:00 | 4:58 |
The course, kilometre by kilometre
Start and finish are 1245 metres apart: the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is a loop.
Highest and lowest point are 7 metres apart, and start and finish are at practically the same height.
The race is held in Chicago, United States, in October, on tarmac throughout.
Elevation gain and climbs
33 metres of climbing over the full distance, with 99 % of the course under one per cent gradient. This is about as flat as a marathon gets.
Against a 3:30 target the terrain costs effectively nothing — under half a minute. Adjust for gradient and what remains is what the legs actually paid.
The route on the map
The course runs as a loop through Chicago and finishes 1245 metres from where it started.
The GPX data of this course
The smoothed profile is stored every 50 metres: 845 points with latitude, longitude, elevation and gradient. The elevations here do not come from the course file but from a terrain model: the ones in the original were unusable.
We do not hand this course out as a file: the line comes from a third-party source and is not ours to pass on. Once a course is built from runners’ own recordings, the file appears here.
Common questions
- How hilly is the Chicago Marathon?
- 33 metres of ascent and 30 of descent over 42.195 km. 100 % of the course sits between −1 and +1 per cent, and 0 % steeper than three. That makes it a flat course.
- Is this a good course for a personal best?
- Minetti's cost model puts this course at 0.20 % against a flat one. That is effectively nothing: the terrain costs no time.
- Is the course a loop?
- Yes. Start and finish are 1245 metres apart.
- Where does this elevation data come from?
- GPX-Streckendatei von goandrace.com (Garmin-Connect-Export), 163 Punkte, auf 42195 m normiert (Rohlinie 42,61 km). Elevation: Terrarium-Kacheln z13 (AWS Open Data), alle 25 m abgetastet, Medianfilter 510 m, Savitzky-Golay 1510 m — die Höhen der Streckendatei sind unbrauchbar, siehe Korrekturen.
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