WHY 26.2 MILES?
Myth: The marathon distance of 26.2 miles represents the distance between the battlefields of Marathon and Athens–not exactly.
Truth: When the marathon was first introduced in the Olympic Games in 1896, the race was 40 kilometers–the distance between the two cities, but in the 1908 Olympics in London, race organizers changed it. The start of the race was moved to the lawn of Windsor Castle so the royal family could watch from their front porch. The finish line remained in Olympic Stadium, bringing the distance to 26 miles and 385 yards.
TO RUN 26.2 MILES …
A basketball player would have to go baseline to baseline 1,471 times.
Sammy Sosa would have to hit 385 home runs.
A football player would have had to string together 231 200-yard rushing games.
WINNING BY A HAIR
In 1990, Martin Pitayo of Mexico won the marathon in the men’s division by the smallest margin in race history: three-tenths of a second. In the women’s division, Joyce Chepchumba of Kenya earned the record for slimmest win in 1999: She crossed the finish line one second ahead of her competitor.
MULTIPLE WINS
Khalid Khannouchi of Morocco won the Chicago Marathon four times, the most of any runner in race history. He finished first in 2002, 2000, 1999 and 1997.
BY THE NUMBERS
Marathon Finishers since 1977: 254,879
AT THE 2003 MARATHON …
Massage therapists: 225
Estimated spectators along the course: 1,000,000
Ice: 3,000 pounds
Vaseline: 160 jars
Bananas: 50,400
Gatorade: 41,780 gallons
Portable toilets: 700
Number of registrants for first Chicago Marathon in 1977: 4,200
Number of registrants for the Chicago Marathon in 2003: 40,000
ALL GROWN UP NOW
In its 26th year, the race has seen both its grand prize and total participation grow substantially.
Year Registrants 1st-place purse
2003 40,000 $100,000
2002 37,500 $100,000
2001 37,500 $75,000
2000 33,171 $75,000
1999 29,256 $65,000
1998 20,063 $55,000
1997 16,372 $50,000
1996 10,925 $40,000
1995 10,802 $35,000
1994 10,021 $30,000
1993 6,941 $20,000
— LASALLE BANK CHICAGO MARATHON
