A Hero Fan’s Guide to the Chicago Marathon

The Chicago Marathon is one of the most spectator-friendly courses I know. The way in which it weaves back and forth throughout the city’s diverse neighborhoods allows spectators several opportunities to see runners at multiple spots on the course without going too far out of their way.

A spectator can essentially view the course from several different spots in the first half without venturing more than a few blocks. We highly recommend prioritizing a trip out to the city’s West Loop to visit our Mercy Mile Cheer Zone though. That’s where the Mercy Home energy is and the magic happens.  If you’re not up for too much walking or navigating public transportation, watch the elites and your runner pass by Mile 2 and then take our shuttle to Mercy Home on West Jackson Boulevard between Racine Avenue and Aberdeen Street.

If you’re up for it, we’ve outlined a few other fun places you can go to catch the marathon. A stop at a critical point in Chinatown (mile 21) can can give you the opportunity to cheer on your runner as they make that last turn into Grant Park for the big finish.

TIP: Pack a backpack with some important necessities like snack/protein bars, fruit, a bottle of water, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and a portable phone charger. Depending on the forecast also consider hat, gloves, and/or rain poncho. Make sure the backpack is large enough to stash some layers, as the temps from the start to finish tend to increase dramatically. Also don’t forget sunglasses, reading glasses and any of your own personal necessities. You don’t want to wind up bailing on your runner because you arrived unprepared.

The second mile marker is on South State Street, just before the intersection of East Jackson Boulevard. This is right outside De Paul University’s Loop Campus where Mercy Home Heroes HQ is located.  Head there early if you want to see the elites run by.  The first wave start time is 7:30 a.m. The elites will come through mile 2 at about 7:40 a.m. Take a good look at them because it’s the last you’ll see them on the course since you will be focused on being in the right place for YOUR runner. Depending on their wave (there are 3 wave starts at 7:30, 8:00 and 8:35) and corral position, your runner could come by anywhere from another 10 minutes to over an hour later.

If you have time, and are in the mood to do some walking, skip mile 2 and proceed north on South State Street to Upper Wacker Drive (7 blocks) and position yourself there, which is at about mile 1.5. The runners will be traveling south. The elites will come through there at about 7:38 a.m. You will need to make some calculations based on the information you have from your runner about their start time and pace to get a sense of when you need to be there.

After your runner has passed, you can use the River Walk on the north side of Wacker to navigate to the other side of State and continue to walk west on Upper Wacker to North LaSalle Street (3 blocks). Here you will see your runner coming north just before the 3-mile marker (which is just on the other side of the river). Don’t dawdle getting over there, especially if your runner is speedy. Someone running an 8 minute per mile pace will get there in only about 10 minutes from where you last saw them. 

TIP: If you are tracking your runner on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon App, you will be able to see when they have started and reached certain points along the course. I just caution you that it’s not 100% real time and you don’t want to miss your runner because you were looking at your phone. Use it as a general guide and get to the key points on the course well in advance of the predicted time. Then stand there and be patient.

After Mile 3, the marathon heads north through the neighborhoods of Old Town, Lincoln Park, and Lakeview for a turnaround in mile 8. You will be heading over to the Half Marathon point (13.1 miles). Since you have some time now, if you need a restroom, there is one off the River Walk. Just walk east toward Michigan Avenue.

TIP: A runner is a moving target. It’s much easier for them to spot spectators if they know where to look. To stand out, wear something bright and have a sign. Let your runner know what to look for and where you’ll be.

If you’re coming from mile 3, just continue west along Wacker (using the River Walk again to get to the other side of the marathon course). Proceed one block to North Wells.  Here runners will be coming back across the river and making a right on Wacker in the middle of mile 13.  You can stay there but the Bank of America cheer zone is just past the 13-mile mark in front of the building at 110 North Wacker. While you can access the marathon anywhere along here, there is a lot of energy at 13.1 miles which is the halfway mark.

If you’re coming from mile 2, walk west on East Jackson Boulevard (6 blocks) to South Wacker and then one block north to West Adams Street.  Here you can see runners in mile 14 or proceed further north to the Bank of America cheer zone between West Washington Boulevard and West Randolph Street.

TIP: The Map on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon App is helpful and will predict where your runner is. Access to Google Maps is also essential and having a back-up hard copy map is also a good idea. Course maps are available at the Expo.

This is the must-visit place on the course.  If you’ve seen your runner at mile 2 and are not sure how much energy you have for all that walking around, just hop on the Mercy Home Heroes shuttle near South State Street and East Van Buren Street (the south-west corner of De Paul’s building where Heroes HQ is) – look for our helpful volunteers!  You will be whisked out to mile 15-17 to see your runner twice, once behind and then again in front of Mercy Home’s West Loop Campus.

If you’re at the Bank of America Cheer Zone at 13.1, you will not have enough time to get to the shuttle and will need to take the “L” (consider purchasing your Ventra Card ahead of time).   Those with speedy runners will only have 20 minutes or so. Pick up the Pink Line at Wells Street and Washington Boulevard (in the direction of 54th/Cermak) to the Morgan and Lake stop. Walk south on Morgan Street to Adams Street (5 blocks). This is the first place you can begin looking for your runner at the beginning of mile 15.

Mercy Home is one block west. Carefully cross the marathon course at Adams and walk west to Aberdeen Street. If you’ve seen your runner (or missed them if they’re too quick), hustle one block over to West Jackson Boulevard (Mercy Home’s West Loop campus straddles the course between Adams and Jackson, between Aberdeen and Racine)– you won’t miss us there! Cheer signs, music, announcers, noise!!

Once your runner passes the through the “Mercy Mile” you can make a choice. You can take our shuttle back to State Street and Van Buren Street, maybe take a walk over to Michigan Avenue, then proceed 7 blocks south to try catching them as they make the last turn into Grant Park (that’s a very crowded interchange). Or since you will have some time to kill while your runner navigates the last 10 miles of the course by themselves, you could come back to HQ, get a head start on the lunch buffet, put your feet up, and watch for them on the finish line live stream. After all, you’ve been doing a lot of walking! Or…

Make the effort and get out to the critical 21-mile mark in Chinatown. Depending on how quickly your runner is moving, you might have 40-minutes or more to get there. This is where a lot of runners are hitting the wall and seeing friends and family members is often a needed boost. So, from the Mercy Mile, instead of the shuttle, walk east on Jackson Boulevard about 4 blocks and make a right (again, carefully crossing the marathon course) on South Peoria Street to the UIC-Halstead Blue Line stop.

Take the Blue Line in the direction of O’Hare. Get off at Jackson and follow the signs for the Red Line. Take the train in the direction of 95th/Dan Ryan. Get off at Cermak/Chinatown. Walk to the end of platform. From here you will see the marathon course to your right. Position yourself near the corner of Cermak and Wentworth on the runners’ left.

TIP: If you’ve run a marathon, you know what to say and what not to say to runners at mile-21. If you haven’t, I suggest words of encouragement like “you look great” (even if it’s a blatant lie!), “you’ve got this” or “you’re doing fantastic” are probably the best things you can say. Not so much: “only five miles to go” or “you’re almost done” – they’re not and often covering another five miles when you are feeling as depleted as one can feel after running 21 miles seems like a daunting task. Just saying. 

Once you’ve encouraged your runner to keep going and they are headed to the home stretch (yay! they only have five miles to go!), you can head in that direction too. Just proceed back east along Cermak Road to Michigan Avenue where you will find the marathon at the 40K mark (or toward the end of mile 25). You can find a good spot anywhere along here, but again, it is best if you have a pre-determined location at which your runner can look for you. The closer you go toward the finish, the more crowded it gets, so my advice is to go right on Michigan, not left.

NOW this is it. NOW they are almost done! Scream and yell with every bit of energy you have left.

It may take runners a while to get through the finish, collect their metal, and post-race refreshments. You can either head over to the reunion area at the Mile 27 Post Race Party to find them or head straight back to Heroes HQ.  Either way, when you greet them, give them a big hug! Yes, they’re sweaty. Yes, they probably smell. Suck it up! What they just did is awesome! And your support was a big help; don’t stop now. You’re a team; revel in that and celebrate the achievement.

TIP: If you are tracking multiple runners, especially runners of varying start times and paces, you may want to stay put for longer periods of time and cut down the number of locations you choose to go. You will not be able to see everyone at every spot and may ultimately wind up missing everyone. If you’re tracking a runner going at a pace faster than 9-minute miles, you probably want to cut down on some of the stops as well.