Hotels for Chicago Marathon 2027

Marathon day pulls in runners chasing personal bests on one of the flattest, fastest courses on the World Marathon Majors calendar, along with families and friends who stake out spots along the route hours ahead. The field moves through a string of distinct neighbourhoods, each with its own pocket of noise, music and cowbells. Streets close early and stay shut most of the day, so the whole area shifts into spectator mode.

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon, first run in 1977, is one of the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors and among the flattest and fastest courses in the sport. Its single loop winds through 29 city neighbourhoods and starts and finishes in Grant Park on the Lake Michigan shore, cheered by well over a million spectators.

Chicago has a rich record of fast times: Kelvin Kiptum set a men's marathon world record here in 2023, and Ruth Chepng'etich set a women's world record on the course in 2024. Because it is a loop, the logistics are among the simplest of any major — base yourself near Grant Park and you can walk to the start and back from the finish, with no race-morning transit to worry about.

October in Chicago is often crisp and bright, and marathon weekend fills the downtown hotels. Collect your bib at the expo, usually held at McCormick Place, in the days before — there is no race-day pickup.