If you were one of the lucky 50,000 runners who received an acceptance email on Thursday for the 2025 Chicago Marathon, you might want to go and buy a lottery ticket. According to race organizers, the fall marathon major saw a record number of applicants, with only 33 per cent of hopefuls getting a spot.
If you’re a part of the 67 per cent who were rejected, don’t be too hard on yourself. Chicago is considered one of the toughest Abbott World Marathon Majors to gain entry into via the lottery, ranking just behind London and New York (both of which broke records for applicants to their 2024 races).
Race organizers said they received 160,000+ applications for the Oct. 12 race. The race had a target of 53,000 acceptances.
With less than 80 metres of elevation gain, the Chicago Marathon is renowned for being one of the fastest Abbott World Marathon Majors. It’s also the race where both of the current men’s and women’s marathon world records were set. Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum took victory in 2023 with a world record of 2:00:35. This year, Ruth Chepngetich followed in Kiptum’s footsteps, setting a new women’s world record of 2:09:56. The race is bound to attract some of the fastest elite marathoners and age groupers from all over the world.
If you were among the 110,000 runners who received a rejection email and if running Chicago in 2025 is still your dream, you can gain entry through the race’s charity program or an international tourism group. Alternatively, consider a close-by option on the Great Lakes the following weekend: spots are still available for the 2025 Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 19, 2025. The best part? There’s no lottery. So, even if luck hasn’t been on your side with marathon majors in the last two years, Toronto will welcome you with open arms. (Registration is open, here.)
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