Event organizers and the City of Chicago have announced the decision to cancel the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and all race weekend activities in response to the ongoing public health concerns amid COVID-19 pandemic.
CHICAGO, IL – On Monday, 13 July 2020, event organizers and the City of Chicago announced the decision to cancel the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, 11 October 2020, and all race weekend activities in response to the ongoing public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In regard to the unique set of circumstances surrounding the decision to cancel the 2020 race, the event has put into place an exception to our standard event policies. Each registered participant will have the option to receive a refund for their 2020 race entry or to defer their place and entry fee to a future edition of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (2021, 2022 or 2023).
2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon registered participants will be contacted via email with additional information and the opportunity to select one of the following options.
Entry refund1
All registered participants for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will be eligible to select a refund for their 2020 race entry. Due to the complexities of cancelling the event and the anticipated quantity of refunds, we expect the refund process to take several weeks or months. Participants who select this opportunity will be notified via email when the refund process has started.
1Participants who received a complimentary entry for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will also have the opportunity to select a refund. In this instance, the refund will be issued to the organization who provided/paid for the complimentary entry and not the individual.
2021, 2022 or 2023 Deferment (place and entry fee)2
All registered participants for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will be eligible to defer their place and entry fee to a future event (2021, 2022 or 2023).
Participants who select this option will be required to claim their entry during the 2021, 2022 or 2023 event application window. An email will be sent to eligible participants when the application window is open. The email will include instructions on how to claim their complimentary guaranteed entry.
2Participants who registered through the 2020 Charity and International Tour Group Programs have the opportunity to defer their entry to a future event. If and when a runner selects this option, they are required to participate with the organization or team they committed to participating with for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
For a full list of frequently asked event cancellation questions please visit the event’s Cancellation FAQ page.
The Chicago Marathon is one of the six world marathon majors and it has been contested by men and women annually since 1977. Since 1983, it has been held annually in October. According to 2019 data, the Chicago Marathon is the third-largest race by number of finishers (45,858) worldwide, after the New York City Marathon (53,627) and the Paris Marathon (47,495) and before the Tokyo Marathon (35,460).
While Athlete Tsegaye Kebede is the only Ethiopian to win the Chicago Marathon (in 2012, clocking 2:04:38 time), seven women Ethiopian athletes were able to win the marathon in the past, whom Athlete Tirunesh Dibaba is the most recent Ethiopian winner in the women’s title (in 2017, clocking (in 2012, clocking 2:04:38 time).
Kenyan athletes, Dennis Kimetto (2013) and Brigid Kosgei (2019) are the Chicago Marathon’s course record holders in, respectively, men and women’s titles with respective finishing times of 2:03:45 and 2:03:45.