Chi Town Half Marathon & 10k
Chicago, IL
- Half Marathon, 10K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Turn up the excitement for the one and only Chi Town Half Marathon and 10K. Start the season off right, feel the energy at the start line and accomplishment at the finish line.
Local Historical Weather (Apr 04):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 55 | 48 | 43 | 69 | 52 |
| L (°F) | 41 | 40 | 37 | 45 | 41 |
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Big city race with small town feel
I can't say enough about this race. All Community Events put on a great race. My wife and I traveled from Cleveland to run this race and stayed downtown. I … MORE
I can’t say enough about this race. All Community Events put on a great race. My wife and I traveled from Cleveland to run this race and stayed downtown. I ran the the half and my wife did the 10k. The communication through emails leading up to the race was outstanding. Packet pick up was offered Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday at the local Dick’s Sporting Goods during race week. None on Friday which was a little disappointing for us out of towners. We did pick up race morning which was a little hectic. We got there early enough and there were enough parking spots, even got FREE parking! There were plenty of porta potties available before the race and during the course as well as enough water stops.
All runners, Half Marathon and 10k started together but in 3 different corrals depending on your pace with a 5 minute lapse between and then turned into a rolling start. The course started at Montrose Harbor which is just north of downtown and followed the Lakefront Trail which was open to other runners and bikers during the race but didn’t cause any problems. The course was a mix of limestone and pavement. The only problem here was that it rained the night before and there were numerous puddles that runners were trying to avoid and was a little sloppy. Then the course turned back southbound heading back towards the city. The 10k runners eventually broke off as the half marathoners headed towards Lincoln Park. At about mile 8.5 we then turned around and headed back towards the finish. The mile markers were spot on with my Garmin except for mile 9 which was a quarter mile off? Not sure why. Maybe with the buildings and being near the city but at mile 10 my watch and mile markers were correct. The race to the finish was back on the limestone which again was littered with puddles so I had to zig zag a little bit but not a problem. Upon finishing we received our medals from local firefighters. The views were outstanding as we had Lake Shore Drive on one side and Lake Michigan on the other as well as views of different harbors along the way.
All in all it was a great race production. The swag was your choice of a
dri fit T or a lightweight sweatshirt (which we chose). The medal was nice with the Chicago skyline on it. The after party had a band and offered your choice of either a Italian beef sandwich or hot dog from Portillos (local Chicago favorite) with a fixings bar. Oranges and protein bars were also available. Beer was Miller Lite. This was my only complaint.. why not offer Goose Island?
A little over 3000 people ran this race.
All in all I would do this race again and would also do another race by All Community Events.
Flat course along Lake Michigan
This was my first ever half. It's a fast course, big sections are along Lake Michigan, not too much backtracking. The race production was ok... The shirts/sweatshirts were not made … MORE
This was my first ever half. It’s a fast course, big sections are along Lake Michigan, not too much backtracking. The race production was ok… The shirts/sweatshirts were not made of technical material, so I couldn’t use them for the race. Not a lot of crowd support, especially towards the last few miles of the course. Lots of water stations but no gels/snacks given. Beer and Potbelly’s at the finish line.
The view from the back of the pack
Overall a quality event. We traveled from Houston to participate. Pros: * Great route from lakeside to near downtown. Well marked. * Plenty of parking . Not sure why everyone … MORE
Overall a quality event. We traveled from Houston to participate.
Pros:
* Great route from lakeside to near downtown. Well marked.
* Plenty of parking . Not sure why everyone is advised to take public transportation.
* Solid communication from production company.
* We had no problem “sharing” the route with the general community.
* Volunteers were great!
* Plenty of hydration stations and restrooms.
* Great food once the reinforcements arrived.
Cons:
* No packet pick up option the day before.
* $17 to have one’s packet mailed is the highest $$ I’ve seen.
* Event is stated as a 3.5 hour finish time. There would have been no beer for anyone as it and the finish line photographer was “packed up” at 3 hours. My wife finished at 3 hours 10 minutes. She has no finish line photo.
* Hot dog provider ran out of food. We waited 30+ minutes. When it arrived, it was then “all you can eat” because most people left. Great food though.
* Most larger races are now providing a food (banana, orange, granola bar) around mile 8-10 these days. Just water and a very watered down electrolye were offered, and there was plenty.
Would we travel from Houston to participate again? Maybe. If you’re looking to PR, this is not the event for you…..too much congestion and turns. Overall, a solid event and happy we participated.
Great Course & Swag
All Community Events does a really great job at coordinating events and delivering with great swag and logistics. Positives: Sweatshirt & cool medal, finish line food, pacers, morning of packet … MORE
All Community Events does a really great job at coordinating events and delivering with great swag and logistics.
Positives: Sweatshirt & cool medal, finish line food, pacers, morning of packet pickup, and a scenic course.
Negatives: Parking wasn’t horrible but I got there rather early, to be expected with Chicago but I’m not from the area so not as familiar, and the race can seem more for show than for competition so there isn’t Gu/energy gels and there’s a decent chance you get “stuck” in the starting chute – not a huge problem but if you’re looking for a PR plan accordingly.