Marathon weekend is so much more than running the 26.2 miles - it is a celebration of months of hard work and training! There are so many events for runners - from the Marathon Expo, to shakeout runs, to post-race parties. We share a round up of some of some exciting goings-on-around-town below.
The Marathon Expo
The official Chicago Marathon Health & Fitness Expo will once again be held at McCormick Place, located south of Grant Park/The Loop, from Thursday October 5th to Saturday October 7th. This is where runners will pick up their race packets, including the bib and official marathon shirt. The Expo will feature over 100 exhibitors offering the latest in running apparel, footwear, nutrition, and recovery tools. It is a runner’s haven - a great place to go shopping for popular brands (think Goodr sunglasses, Oofos recovery slides, Balega socks) and there are often discount deals. There will be stations to make posters and pick up cowbells for cheering. McCormick is a very large convention space, so it is fairly easy to get in without much waiting. It is free and open to the public, so bring friends and family along!
Shakeout Runs
Shakeout runs are a great way to loosen the legs, work off nervous energy, meet new people and get into marathon mode! There are a range of shakeout runs throughout Chicago during Marathon weekend hosted by brands, sponsors, and local running clubs.
The Abbott 5K is the official shakeout run of the Chicago Marathon, taking place the day before the marathon on Saturday October 7th. The 3.1 mile course starts in Grant Park, weaves through downtown Chicago, taking runners past iconic Chicago landmarks. Start corrals are based on projected pace, with a 45 minute time limit. Bibs can be picked up at the Expo on Thursday and Friday. This event is popular and will sell out.
Popular run apparel brand Tracksmith is back in Chicago offering a Marathon Experience weekend, with a pop store, exclusive Chicago products, and a shakeout run. The pop-up store opens on Thursday October 5th at 9am, offering gift with purchase (while supplies last), followed by a kick-off party on Friday evening (tickets required), a shakeout run on Saturday 8am, and a post-race after-party and commemorative poster stamping on Sunday. The Tracksmith Chicago Marathon Experience will be at the Chicago Athletic Association.
Sign up for shakeout run with official sponsor Nike will open up on October 1st. The shakeout run will be led by Coach Bennett on Saturday October 7th, 8am, meeting at the Nike Chicago flagship store on 669 Michigan Ave, with appearances by Nike athletes. Runners are also invited to join Nike Chicago for their Community Member Night on Thursday October 5th at 6pm to trial the newest footwear innovation, talk to the Nike Product Team, and more. Registration for both events open on October 1st.
Heartbreak Hill will be hosting a shakeout run in partnership with Nike. On Friday and Saturday, the Nike Innovation Lab at Heartbreak will host a Q&A with special guest panelists, pre-race portraits, and a hat customization bar. They will also host a shakeout run on Saturday morning at 8:00am with Heartbreak co-founder Dan Fitzgerald and Nike athletes. On Marathon Sunday, there will be a Heartbreakers After Party to celebrate the marathon finishers.
Rabbit running apparel brand will be hosting a shakeout run in partnership with Kofuzi Run Club at Fleet Feet on Friday October 6th. If you have not yet seen Kofuzi’s fun marathon videos and running shoe reviews, go check them out! The shakeout run will leave from Fleet Feet South Loop at 6:30pm, followed by a meet and greet with Kofuzi at 7:15pm. Tickets are available for $5 at eventbrite and proceeds are being donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Rabbit will also offer a special shirt screen printing at McCormick Center.
Kofuzi/ASICS - Shakeout Run & Pizza Party
For those who cannot get enough of Kofuzi's energy, he will also be hosting a shakeout run and pizza party in collaboration with ASICS. Meetup is at 10am on Saturday morning October 7th at the Bean (or around that area due to construction). The group will be running 3 miles north along the lakefront, eventually ending up Lou Malnati's in Gold Coast for a pizza brunch. Sign up is available at eventbrite.
Popular Chicago local running club 3Run2 will be hosting a shakeout run on Saturday October 7th. There will also be a 10-year marathon photography exhibition. Meetup is at the National Museum of Mexican Art on W 19th Street, with a 9:30am start time. 3RUN2 will also host their popular post-marathon dance party at City Hall on Sunday night after the marathon!
GRC Run Club, a Chicago based run club fostering healthy and community wellness, will be hosting a marathon shakeout run with Peace Runners 773, in collaboration with lululemon and Peloton. Meet-up is on Saturday October 7th at 8am at the lululemon in Lincoln Park. For those looking to carb-load, there will be a Pasta Party with Gemma Foods on Friday night October 6th at Revival Food Hall.
Latinas Run Chicago/Family Style RC - Shakeout Run
Latinas Run Chicago will be hosting a shakeout run in collaboration with Family Style Run Club. Meet up will be on Saturday, October. 7th, at 8:15am in Ping Tom Memorial Park near Chinatown. Come meet Iron Girl Nadia for some inspirational words! Immediately after the run, there a pre-race brunch social from 10am to 1pm in the South Loop. RSVP is required and location will be shared then. On Medal Monday after the marathon, there will be a BYOB and potluck meal in the South Loop as well starting at 4pm.
PIONEERS/Venados/GFTC Brooklyn/TeamWRK - Shakeout Run
In the fabulous coming together of runners everywhere that is the Chicago Marathon, four run clubs - PIONEERS (Boston based), Venados Running Club (Pilsen based), Goldfinger Track Club (Brooklyn based), and TeamWRK (NYC based) are hosting a Chicago Marathon shakeout run on Saturday, October 7th. Meet up will be at 1524 N Ashland Avenue at 9am.
Outdoor apparel brand Arc'teryx will be hosting a Chicago Marathon shakeout run on Saturday October 7th. It starts at 10am at their Gold Coast store on Rush Street, with a 5K neighborhood shakeout run in collaboration with Gold Coast Run Club. Afterwards, head back to their store for coffee and snacks, Garmin demos, giveaways, and a race Q&A session with their brand ambassadors. Reserve a spot here.
Women Take the Bridge is a team competition where teams of 2 pair up, each runner runs the same route through downtown Chicago, hitting checkpoints and crossing the finish line in pairs. The team with the lowest time wins, with $400 prize being awarded to the first place team. This event will be on Friday October 6th at 7pm, followed by an afterparty. It hosted in collaboration with Salomon and is open to all FTW (femme/trans/women/non-binary.) Sign up via eventbrite here.
Post-Race Festivities
Time to celebrate your marathon achievement! The official race party will be held in Grant Park, along with other festivities throughout town.
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon Post-Race party will be held in Grant Park, near the finish line of the Chicago Marathon. Festivities begin at 9:30am (with the first beer being served at 9:45am!) The party goes on until 4:00pm. Runners, friends, and family are invited to participate to celebrate the runners’ achievements.
If your legs are still feeling spry after running 26.2 miles, local Chicago run club 3RUN2 will host its annual post-marathon dance party this year at City Hall on Sunday from 9pm onwards. This year’s party is held in partnership with lululemon, and will feature a (much needed) Recovery Oasis on-site. Tickets are on sale only in advance until capacity is reached.
November Project promotes free fitness throughout Chicago. They will be hosting a variety of fun events during Chicago Marathon weekend, including a ‘spicy workout’ or ‘spicy stretch’ at Millenium Park on Friday October 6th at 6:06 am, a Pizza Mile on Saturday at Lake Shore Park at 11:00am, and finally a Post-Race Party at District Brew Yards on Marathon Sunday at 4pm.
Venados is a running club based in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Marathon weekend festivities with Venados (in partnership with On) will include a cheer station on Marathon day and a post-marathon recovery party on October 11th at Pizza Cantina on 18th Street.
Sad Girl Track Club
For those runners who will be looking to flush out that lactic acid from their legs after 26.2 miles, Sad Girl Track Club (led by the ever entertaining Izzy & Molly Seidel) will be hosting a Walk of Shame on Monday, Oct 9th, the morning after the Chicago Marathon. Location TBD but good times and laughs (or commiseration) are guaranteed!
Medal Engravings - Fleet Feet
For runners who would like to memorialize their amazing achievement, Fleet Feet is offering free medal engravings for Chicago Marathon runners on Medal Monday, October 9th from 9am to 6pm, at 150 W. Roosevelt. There will also be an opportunity to pamper yourself with Therabody RecoveryAir Boots, Oofos slides and massage tools.
Medal Engravings - Under Armour
Sports apparel brand Under Armour will also be offering medal engravings and gear customization at their Under Armour Chicago Brand House October 7th to 9th. The Under Armour Brand House is located at 600 Michigan Avenue.
Other Events
Fans of Olympians Des Linden and Kara Goucher can join them at a live taping of their podcast ‘Nobody Asked Us’ on Thursday October 5th. Both elite runners released memoirs earlier this year. The event, sponsored by Fleet Feet x Altra, will be held at the Roosevelt Collection in South Loop. Tickets for this event are being sold through eventbrite. (This event is sold out but you can join the waitlist.) For those who may miss this, not to worry! We will be sharing a video reel after the event!
Fans of Peloton are in for a treat as the Peloton Tour stop in Chicago coincides with Marathon Weekend. From October 5th to October 7th, fans will have the opportunity to sign up for events with popular instructors Cody Rigsby, Logan Aldridge, Mariana Fernandez, Susie Chan and Tunde Oyeneyin. Events include live group classes, game nights, and parties. A caveat is that many of the events are located in Skokie, IL (a suburb of Chicago about 15 miles away.) Peloton instructors will offer a few events in Chicago, including a 5K shakeout run in collaboration with GRC and Peace Runners 773 on Saturday morning at the lululemon Lincoln Park experiential store. There will also be strength and yoga classes offered by Peloton instructors at the lululemon store (however, these already look to be sold out.)
Enjoy the festivities as Chicago welcomes all runners & supporters to town for Marathon Weekend!
Did we miss something? If you would like to suggest other events not included on this list, please contact us or DM us at @getintostride on Instagram!
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