Chicago Marathon 2018 (Oct 7th) DIS Meet Race!

DopeyBadger

Imagathoner
Joined
Oct 15, 2015
Well the buzz is abound across the DIS about several people interested in running the Chicago Marathon in 2018. The race will be held on October 7th, 2018. So I figured since there's so much interest I might as well get everyone on the same page if you're interested in signing up (which happens soon!).

Website: https://www.chicagomarathon.com
When: October 7th, 2018

Participants
Accepted:
@mrsg00fy
@DopeyBadger
@garneska
@CheapRunnerMike
@marn913
MrsCheapRunnerMike
@camaker
@ZellyB
@Chris-Mo
@cburnett11
@canglim52
@bellrae
@ematulis81
@roxymama
@Wendy98

How do I sign up for the race?

22282058_10155209102761645_1999307979149261949_n.png


https://www.chicagomarathon.com/participant-information/registration/

You can apply for a guaranteed or non-guaranteed entry to the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Applications for a guaranteed entry will open at 10 a.m. (U.S. Central Time) on Tuesday, October 24.
The application for a non-guaranteed entry will open at 10 a.m. (U.S. Central Time) on Tuesday, October 31.
All applications will close at 2 p.m. (U.S. Central Time) on Thursday, November 30.

Time Qualifier
The time qualifier standards have changed for 2018.

Screen Shot 2017-10-10 at 10.24.21 AM.png

Lottery
Screen Shot 2017-10-10 at 10.24.52 AM.png

Per @roxymama

"Haven't found the lottery numbers for the race happening this weekend. But an article about the two years prior says:
Among more than 54,800 entries, nearly 29,000 prospective runners are finding out today that they have won a spot in the Oct. 11 race. That gave entrants a 52 percent chance of winning a race bib compared with a 54 percent chance last year.
16,200 race bibs were awarded through one of several ways to guarantee entry. Last year's race included roughly 14,000 guaranteed runners.
More than 6,700 runners ensured their spot this year by running for a charity, while about 2,800 got a bib because they had run the Chicago marathon five or more times in the past 10 years.
About 3,800 runners got in through time qualification (men who had run a marathon in under 3 hours and 15 minutes and women in under 3 hours and 45 minutes"


History says that the odds of the lottery are 50/50 per some newspaper articles. Although with that, I haven't talked to anyone I know that hasn't gotten in that applied (could just know some really lucky people I guess). BUT, the time qualifier standards are being relaxed (for the most part) across the board. So I don't know if that will effect the odds of getting in through the lottery. My guess is the lottery will now be a tougher way to gain entry.

Charity
Screen Shot 2017-10-10 at 10.25.29 AM.png

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but since charity entires are "guaranteed" it means that if someone enters the lottery and doesn't get in, it might be too late to gain entry via charity. It looks like you have to choose from the outset either time qualifier, lottery or charity (few other ways as well). And then we all find out in December at the latest.

How much does it cost?

Screen Shot 2017-10-10 at 10.31.23 AM.png

What's the weather like on race day?

Marathon Conditions Through The Years

  • October 11, 1998: A high of 69 degrees and a low of 48. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 4 mph. Sounds like it was a nice day.
  • October 24, 1999: A high of 51 degrees and a low of 30. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 8 mph.
  • October 22, 2000: Another lovely day that year with a high of 69 degrees and a low of 53. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 4 mph.
  • October 7, 2001: A high of 53 degrees and a low of 33. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 3 mph.
  • October 13, 2002: A high of 50 degrees and a low of 39. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 12 mph.
  • October 12, 2003: A high of 69 degrees and a low of 48. Finally some precipitation, but only around 0.01 inches of it. Average wind speed of 11 mph.
  • October 10, 2004: A high of 62 degrees and a low of 46. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 5 mph.
  • October 9, 2005: A high of 59 degrees and a low of 50. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 11 mph.
  • October 22, 2006: A high of 48 degrees and a low of 36. 0.12 inches of precipitation. Average wind speed of 11 mph.
  • October 7, 2007: A high of 88 degrees and a low of 71 (yikes). No precipitation. Average wind speed of 6 mph.
  • October 12, 2008: Runners had a little break in the heat, but not much. High of 86 degrees and a low of 63. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 5 mph.
  • October 11, 2009: A chilly year after a couple hot races, with a high of 45 and a low of 28. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 5 mph.
  • October 10, 2010: Back to the warm weather with a high of 84 degrees and a low of 59. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 3 mph.
  • October 9, 2011: A high of 80 degrees and a low of 57. No precipitation. Average wind speed of 3 mph.
  • October 7, 2012: A high of 51 degrees and a low of 38. No precipitation. An average wind speed of 7 mph.
  • 10/13/13- T+D 89-100, cloudy, 6-15 mph wind
  • 10/12/14- T+D 77-99, cloudy, 7-15 mph wind
  • 10/11/15- T+D 97-120, cloudy, 9-17 mph wind
  • 10/9/16- T+D 101-103, cloudy, 6-14 mph wind
  • 10/8/17- T+D 108-127, sunny, 3-5 mph wind
Source: Chicago Marathon: A History Lesson In Weather - NBC Chicago http://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/s...-Weather-History-225256292.html#ixzz4v3WLBhC9
Follow us: @nbcchicago on Twitter | nbcchicago on Facebook

So, 20 years of weather data.

-5/20 had stellar marathon weather. (Red/Bold)
-11/20 had ideal marathon weather. (Bold)
-4/20 had ok marathon weather.
-5/20 had bad marathon weather. (Blue)

So, about a 50% chance for ideal marathon weather, 25% chance for really really good marathon weather, and 25% chance at bad marathon weather.

Long Range NOAA Forecast:

Aug-Sep-Oct 2018
Screen Shot 2017-10-10 at 11.16.01 AM.png

Sep-Oct-Nov 2018
Screen Shot 2017-10-10 at 11.16.22 AM.png

Oct-Nov-Dec 2018
Screen Shot 2017-10-10 at 11.16.37 AM.png

When would we meet?

At first blush, I'd say on Expo day would certainly be the easiest. I haven't run the Chicago Marathon before so others could speak to the possibility of meeting up on race morning as well.

@roxymama suggested a group shake-out run on Saturday morning as another option.

Other race options?

International Chicago 5k

https://www.chicago5k.com/register/

Based on their website, it seems likely that the 5k will occur in 2018 on the day before the marathon.

Hotel Booking through Chicago Marathon website

Below is the link provided by the Chicago marathon website for hotel booking:
https://registration.experientevent.com/ShowBCM181
 
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Oh and I am also entering the lottery for sure. My husband has a friend who ran this year for a well known girls running charity and so I am going to reach out to her this week to ask for details on how/when she signed up/what was involved etc.
So yeah, I guess I'm pretty serious about it now!
 


I added NOAA long range forecast and @roxymama's suggestion for a lakefront trail shakeout on Saturday morning.

This year there was a 5k the day before the marathon (the International 5k)
I will keep an eye out to see if they do the same thing this year. In case people have family members who would also like to run, but not run 26.2 :)

Looks like the 5k will occur in 2018 as well based on the website.
 
Trying to convince my wife that she should do Chicago as well!

I would think that if you miss out on the lottery you would still be able to go the charity route;
If you apply for, but do not receive an entry through the drawing you may still register for the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon by opting to run for select official charities or tour groups.
 
I would think that if you miss out on the lottery you would still be able to go the charity route;
If you apply for, but do not receive an entry through the drawing you may still register for the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon by opting to run for select official charities or tour groups.

Good catch! Alright, that might offer a bit of relief for those that don't get in via lottery.
 
Definitely interested! OOOOH, I think I could convince DH to sign up for the 5k! We've been wanting to visit Chicago, and just recently discussed wanting to do a half marathon there, but he's very against the marathon distance (for himself), so I don't think I can talk him into the marathon lottery. o_O Sort of waffling on it, as I'd really like to complete marathon training and marathon #1 (WDW in Jan.), before signing up to potentially do another, but... :scratchin Will continue to think on it, talk to the hubs, and report back!
 
If there are really that many of us serious about running ... I wonder if there are any perks we would get by establishing ourselves as an official "run club". I actually have the information on how to do this for RunDisney and thought about broaching the subject with a group on here, just because run clubs get an allotment of bibs for races with more flexible terms (similar to charities and TAs), but I kinda forgot about it when I decided to take a break from RunDisney in 2018.
 

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