Chicago Marathon course & pace calculator
Pancake flat through 29 neighbourhoods; the only real climb is the short Roosevelt Road ramp in the last kilometre.
- Climb
- 53 m
- Descent
- 51 m
- Low – high
- 178 m – 184 m
- Terrain at 3:00
- +0:19
- Typical start
- 14°C
- Sub-3 needs
- 2:58:49 flat
Course time calculator
Type h:mm:ss or use the step buttons.
14°C at your start → 18°C at the finish · dew point 8°C
Heat is scored with shade WBGT from temperature and humidity, starting to cost time above about 15°C (59°F) WBGT. Slower runners lose more because they are out longer. Wind, sun and rain are not modelled.
Certified distance only. Switch on to count the metres lost to corners, crowds and aid stations.
Same effort all the way: slower up the climbs, faster down the descents.
- Flat course
- 2:58:49
- Terrain
- +0:19
- Weather
- +0:52
- Chicago finish
- 3:00:00
Average 4:16 /km on course · 4:14 /km flat
Elevation profile
53 m up, 51 m down. Hover or tap the chart for the grade and your clock time at any point.
- Climb 2%+
- Climb 0.8–2%
- Flat
- Descent 0.8–2%
- Descent 2%+
- 1Grant Park · 0.0 km
- 2Lincoln Park · 8.9 km
- 3West Loop · 22.6 km
- 4Pilsen · 31.6 km
- 5Chinatown · 34.1 km
- 6Mount Roosevelt · 41.8 km
Course splits for 3:00:00
Even-effort splits with the selected weather. Climbing and descent are per split, from the smoothed profile.
| Split | Pace | Split time | Clock | Up / down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 4:14 | +1 m / −4 m |
| 2 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 8:29 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 3 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 12:46 | +4 m / −2 m |
| 4 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 17:01 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 5 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 21:16 | +1 m / −2 m |
| 6 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 25:31 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 7 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 29:47 | +2 m / −0 m |
| 8 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 34:03 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 9 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 38:18 | +1 m / −2 m |
| 10 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 42:34 | +2 m / −1 m |
| 11 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 46:48 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 12 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 51:03 | +1 m / −3 m |
| 13 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 55:20 | +2 m / −0 m |
| 14 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 59:35 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 15 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 1:03:51 | +1 m / −0 m |
| 16 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 1:08:08 | +2 m / −0 m |
| 17 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 1:12:23 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 18 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 1:16:38 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 19 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 1:20:53 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 20 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 1:25:08 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 21 km | 4:18 | 4:18 | 1:29:26 | +4 m / −1 m |
| 22 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:33:40 | +1 m / −4 m |
| 23 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 1:37:58 | +4 m / −3 m |
| 24 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 1:42:14 | +2 m / −0 m |
| 25 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 1:46:30 | +1 m / −2 m |
| 26 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 1:50:46 | +2 m / −2 m |
| 27 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 1:55:02 | +1 m / −0 m |
| 28 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 1:59:18 | +2 m / −2 m |
| 29 km | 4:17 | 4:17 | 2:03:34 | +1 m / −0 m |
| 30 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:07:50 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 31 km | 4:18 | 4:18 | 2:12:08 | +3 m / −0 m |
| 32 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:16:23 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 33 km | 4:15 | 4:15 | 2:20:38 | +0 m / −2 m |
| 34 km | 4:18 | 4:18 | 2:24:56 | +3 m / −2 m |
| 35 km | 4:18 | 4:18 | 2:29:14 | +5 m / −4 m |
| 36 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:33:30 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 37 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:37:46 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 38 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:42:02 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 39 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:46:18 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 40 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:50:34 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 41 km | 4:18 | 4:18 | 2:54:52 | +2 m / −0 m |
| 42 km | 4:18 | 4:18 | 2:59:10 | +3 m / −2 m |
| Finish | 4:17 | 0:50 | 3:00:00 | +0 m / −0 m |
Race-morning weather
Air temperature and relative humidity by hour from the first wave’s 07:30 start, from 98 mornings within three days of the race date since 2011 at CHICAGO MIDWAY AIRPORT, IL US. Cool and warm are about the 10th and 90th percentile mornings by heat stress. Median wind 17 km/h.
| Local time | Cool | Typical | Warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07:30 | 7°C · 67% | 14°C · 69% | 19°C · 82% |
| 08:30 | 8°C · 65% | 16°C · 61% | 20°C · 84% |
| 09:30 | 9°C · 48% | 16°C · 69% | 21°C · 77% |
| 10:30 | 11°C · 46% | 18°C · 65% | 22°C · 65% |
| 11:30 | 12°C · 42% | 20°C · 46% | 23°C · 60% |
| 12:30 | 13°C · 42% | 18°C · 68% | 24°C · 57% |
| 13:30 | 13°C · 42% | 20°C · 48% | 25°C · 53% |
| Date | Start | +3 hours | Peak WBGT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-13 | 16°C · 78% | 16°C · 70% | 18°C |
| 2023-10-08 | 8°C · 68% | 12°C · 48% | 14°C |
| 2022-10-09 | 8°C · 56% | 16°C · 40% | 17°C |
| 2021-10-10 | 22°C · 68% | 24°C · 62% | 25°C |
| 2019-10-13 | 6°C · 67% | 9°C · 51% | 12°C |
| 2018-10-07 | 15°C · 88% | 16°C · 86% | 19°C |
| 2017-10-08 | 14°C · 89% | 21°C · 61% | 22°C |
| 2016-10-09 | 11°C · 79% | 14°C · 57% | 16°C |
| 2015-10-11 | 12°C · 69% | 20°C · 49% | 21°C |
| 2014-10-12 | 8°C · 71% | 14°C · 53% | 16°C |
| 2013-10-13 | 9°C · 71% | 16°C · 44% | 16°C |
| 2012-10-07 | 4°C · 64% | 9°C · 39% | 11°C |
| 2011-10-09 | 16°C · 67% | 23°C · 44% | 22°C |
Data & method
- Route: Route rebuilt along OpenStreetMap roads from the official course map by jojomango/marathon-majors (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Measured at 43.09 km and scaled to 42.195 km.
- Elevation: USGS 3DEP 1/3 arc-second (10 m) bare-earth DEM. Sampled every 25–50 m, with bridges set to deck height and smoothed over 200–400 m.
- Weather: hourly observations from NOAA’s Integrated Surface Database (station 72534014819).
- Small climbs on flat courses can be terrain-model noise; they add only seconds to the estimates.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Chicago Marathon hilly?
The course climbs about 53 m (174 ft) and descends about 51 m in total, which is flat. At even effort the terrain alone changes a 3:00 flat-course marathon by +0:19 and a 4:00 by +0:25.
What flat-course time do I need to break 3 hours at the Chicago Marathon?
About 2:58:49 on a flat course, assuming a typical race morning. For a sub-4 you need about 3:57:47. Switch the weather off in the calculator to see the terrain-only figure.
What is the weather usually like at the Chicago Marathon?
On a typical race morning it is about 14°C (57°F) at the first wave’s start and 18°C (64°F) three hours later, with a dew point near 8°C. That costs a 3-hour runner about 0:53 and a 4-hour runner about 1:50. Figures come from airport observations within three days of the race date since 2011.
How is the course-adjusted time calculated?
The course is cut into 100 m pieces. Each piece is run at your flat-course pace times a grade factor (about +3.3% per 1% uphill and −1.8% per 1% downhill) and a heat factor from shade WBGT at the time you reach it. Adding the pieces gives the course time, and the calculator works backwards from a goal the same way.