Chicago Marathon brings neighborhood cheers and winning finishes to Grant Park

Tens of thousands of runners set out from North Columbus Drive in Grant Park on Sunday for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Beginning around sunrise, participants from around the world followed a 26.2-mile course through the city while thousands of spectators offered encouragement along the way.

The route took runners through the Loop, Wrigleyville, the Near West Side, Pilsen, Bronzeville and Chinatown. For residents, the race brought an international sporting event into familiar streets, with opportunities to cheer for visiting athletes alongside neighbors, friends and relatives taking on the distance.

At the finish in Grant Park, Amos Kipruto took first place, while Hawi Feysa won the women’s division. Catherine Debrunner finished first in the women’s wheelchair division. Jacob Kiplimo placed fourth, Boki Diriba fifth and Daniel Mateiko sixth in their race; Kipruto helped Kiplimo stand after they had crossed the finish line.

The women’s finish also included Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei in third place and Mary Ngugi-Cooper in fourth. The two shared a hug after finishing. Isobel Batt-Doyle placed sixth in the women’s division, adding another documented result to a day that paired elite competition with the efforts of thousands of other participants.

Spectators supplied their own memorable sights along the course. In the South Loop, a supporter dressed as a pink cow waited for her sister and described feeling proud and inspired by her efforts. Near Mile 22 in Bronzeville, Julia Tung and Marcie Tung encouraged runners while watching for friends. Another spectator wore a traffic-cone costume on South Michigan Avenue near West 26th Street.

Photographs from Bronzeville showed runners nearing West 26th and South State streets, with some cooling themselves with water as they continued toward the finish. Those scenes, together with the cheers and reunions in Grant Park, captured the marathon’s local character: a demanding athletic undertaking supported by people gathered across Chicago’s neighborhoods.