Thousands of individuals ran, walked, rode in wheelchairs and relied on other forms of movement as they took part in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon throughout the city on Oct. 9.
And for the first time, non-binary participants had their own competitive category. The top 12 finishers were all from the United States, led by Blank Bruno, who ran the 26.2 miles in 2:47:12. Grayslake native Cal Calamia finished second (2:58:50) while Elliot Painter (3:21:32) was third. Seventy non-binary participants registered for this year's event.
"I woke up this morning, and I knew I wasn't just running this for myself," Calamia told The Chicago Tribune. "For anyone who is looking to see someone like them do something like this. It's an honor to be able to be one of the people who gets to represent this community."
Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich defended her Chicago Marathon title, breaking the tape in 2:14:18; U.S. participant Emily Sisson set a record for this country by finishing second in 2:18:29. Another person from Kenya, Benson Kipruto, cruised to victory in the men's race in 2:04:2425 seconds ahead of Ethiopian Seifu Tura Abdiwak.
Swiss athlete Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair division in 1:25:20 while the United States' Daniel Romanchuk finished second in 1:33:11. The United States took the top four spots in the women's section, headed by Susannah Scaroni (1:45:48) and Tatyana Mcfadden (1:49:46).
One of the six marathon majors in the world, the course started and ended in Grant Park, winding through 29 neighborhoods, as far north as Uptown and all the way down to Bronzeville, the Tribune noted.