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As the seasons change, we will soon welcome to our city some of the most elite runners in the world, Chicago. And about 40,000 more committed participants, too.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Chicago Marathon. The race starts in waves beginning at 7:20 a.m. on Oct. 9 in Grant Park, and follows a route through 29 neighborhoods. It is a flat, fast course considered one of the world’s six major marathons.

But it didn’t start out that way. Heck, the first race wasn’t even 26.2 miles long. Yet, it’s become more inclusive for a variety of people — including wheelchair racers — throughout the decades and has only been canceled twice (due to lack of a sponsor in 1987 and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020).

Enjoy this look back at how the competition has changed over time. I, a non-runner, am going to eat a donut.

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— Kori Rumore, visual reporter

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Sept. 23, 1905: Chicago hosts its first marathon

Long-distance runner Rhud Metzner runs on a street in Chicago surrounded by men riding bicycles, in automobiles and a horse-drawn wagon in 1905.
Long-distance runner Rhud Metzner runs on a street in Chicago surrounded by men riding bicycles, in automobiles and a horse-drawn wagon in 1905.

Fifteen runners started the 25-mile race in Evanston, but only 7 crossed the finish line in Washington Park. Along the route, they kicked up dust on Sheridan Road, and were forced to wait for a passing train at Devon Avenue and at Rush Street during a bridge lift for a passing steamship. The winner crossed the finish line in …

Sept. 25, 1977: First Chicago Marathon

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Dan Cloeter, 25, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is welcomed by an official as he crosses the finish line near Buckingham Fountain to win the 1977 Mayor Daley Marathon on Sept. 25, 1977.
Dan Cloeter, 25, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is welcomed by an official as he crosses the finish line near Buckingham Fountain to win the 1977 Mayor Daley Marathon on Sept. 25, 1977.

Theology student Dan Cloeter, 25, from Fort Wayne, Ind., won the first Chicago Marathon — which was then known as the Mayor Daley Marathon — with a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes, 52 seconds. His prize money was …

Sept. 24, 1978: Up to 300 runners treated for heat exhaustion

A runner is taken to an ambulance at 39th Street where he went down with exhaustion during the second annual Mayor Daley Marathon on Sept. 24, 1978.
A runner is taken to an ambulance at 39th Street where he went down with exhaustion during the second annual Mayor Daley Marathon on Sept. 24, 1978.

Promoters were criticized for the high entry fee ($10) and late start time (10:30 a.m.), but it was the temperature — with a high of 80 degrees — that hit participants hardest. Mayor Michael Bilandic created a flap when he walked into the first-aid tent, looked at the runners receiving medical attention and said they were there because …

The next year, the race was moved to October and Bilandic was ousted from office — for his handling of a blizzard.

Sept. 28, 1980: First wheelchair racer crosses the finish line

Gloved hands keep Jayne Schiff of Chicago speeding along in her racing wheelchair on April 5, 1981, at a 10,000-meter course on the Chicago lakefront. In 1980, she was the first unofficial wheelchair winner of the Chicago Marathon.
Gloved hands keep Jayne Schiff of Chicago speeding along in her racing wheelchair on April 5, 1981, at a 10,000-meter course on the Chicago lakefront. In 1980, she was the first unofficial wheelchair winner of the Chicago Marathon.

Though the Chicago Marathon’s first wheelchair competition wouldn’t take place until 1984, Northwestern University medical student Jayne Schiff became its first unofficial wheelchair winner with a time of 3:02:38. Schiff nearly died in 1975, when a landslide inside an upstate New York cave crushed her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down.

“When I’m rolling along the lakeshore I don’t feel like I’m in a wheelchair, I feel like I’m flying,” she told the Tribune in 1981.

Oct. 31, 1993: Frightful weather

Of the 6,941 marathoners who started at Clark and Washington streets, nearly 3 percent would be treated for cold or hypothermia as a result of running in snow with a wind chill factor of 12 during the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 31, 1993.
Of the 6,941 marathoners who started at Clark and Washington streets, nearly 3 percent would be treated for cold or hypothermia as a result of running in snow with a wind chill factor of 12 during the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 31, 1993.

The first Halloween marathon — the latest in its history — and the weather was frightening: snow, 34 degrees with and 12-degree wind chill. Many runners dropped out with hypothermia. Ritva Lemetti of Finland (figures) won the women’s race in 2:33:18. Luiz Antonio Dos Santos of Brazil (go figure) won the men’s side in 2:13:14.

Oct. 7, 2007: Photo finish followed by record 88-degree heat, which causes race to be cut short

Amber Mercier, left, and Leslee Hewlett, both of Chicago, receive water as the runners head east on West Jackson Boulevard at the marathon on Oct. 7, 2007. The race was cut short due to heat-related stresses, and one person died during the event.
Amber Mercier, left, and Leslee Hewlett, both of Chicago, receive water as the runners head east on West Jackson Boulevard at the marathon on Oct. 7, 2007. The race was cut short due to heat-related stresses, and one person died during the event.

Five-hundredths of a second — the closest finish to date in the Chicago Marathon — separated Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) from Patrick Ivuti (Kenya). Both men appeared to cross the tape at the exact moment, but the head judge ruled the winner was …

More than an hour later, however, the race was stopped after complaints of insufficient water and hundreds treated for heat-related illnesses.

The Chicago Marathon has been canceled twice in its history — in 1987 after a sponsor withdrew its support and in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Join our Chicagoland history Facebook group for more from Chicago’s past.

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