MAIN Recreation Sports Chicago Marathon

1977 became a landmark year for running in Chicago.

Over 4,200 runners turned out for the first Mayor Daley Marathon, making it the largest big city marathon in the world.

Running fever soon gripped the city, with several other shorter races organized for the first time including the first Chicago Distance Classic with an incredible 5,000 runners.

Adding to the excitement, city fathers announced that their aim was to make Chicago "the running capital of the world'' and turned five miles of an old horseback riding path along the lakefront into jogging paths which due to overwhelming popularity ultimately grew to 18 miles around.

Today, the Chicago Marathon is renowned for its great local support, superb organisation and for being the world's fastest and flattest course. Over 1.2 million spectators will line the 26.2-mile course for the 30th anniversary Chicago Marathon on October 7, 2007, which begins and finishes in Grant Park on Columbus Drive, near Buckingham Fountain.

Watch for comprehensive TV coverage on race day at the local CBS Chicago station and on the Web, check out related maps and pictures, recent stats and running times plus lots more on this year's Windy City run ....

La Salle Bank Chicago Marathon - The official site with info on this year's race, entry & registration details, parking and transportation, Chicago travel info, tourist attractions and accommodations, how to become a member of the volunteer 26.2 Curb Crew, race day photos, marathon weekend events, complete results, plus related marathon merchandise at the online store.

Chicago Marathon Spectator & Course Map - Full color map of the entire course in printable Adobe Acrobat format showing CTA viewing areas, famous landmarks, medical aid stations

Chicago Transit Authority - The complete rundown from the CTA on how to get to the start of the race on the big day, as well as prime viewing areas.

Chicago Marathon Race Results - The complete database of winners searchable by finish position, time, or runner name, plus a great collection of over 100 related Chicago Marathon news articles from the past and present, from MarathonGuide.com.

Chicago Area Runners Association - Great resource for prospective Chicago Marathon runners featuring the latest news, local race calendar, membership info, maps, best places to train, interactive pace calculators, fun runs, recent results, related message boards.

Also see -> Boston Marathon | London Marathon

New York Marathon | Running & Jogging

also see -> Chicago Tourist Attractions