On a sunny, breezy Sunday, more than 40,000 marathon runners dashed through the spectator-lined streets of Chicago.
By midday, just after the 23rd mile marker in Bronzeville, the signs shifted from messages of encouragement to those of endurance. One neon green sign read, “It’s only a 5k from here.” Another, “What’s a few more miles?”
Cal Calamia’s goal in the race was to finish in less than three hours. Calamia, 26, who identifies as nonbinary, crossed the finish line after 2 hours, 58 minutes. In the crowd, they spotted friends and family, before reuniting with their support team after the race in Grant Park.
Sunday was Calamia’s third Chicago Marathon. Previously, they had registered as female, but when they were checking their account this year, they realized there was a nonbinary option. For Calamia, races had always been stressful, from the registration process to the gendered language used throughout the event. But this year, the Grayslake native feels like they got to run this course authentically for the first time.
“I woke up this morning, and I knew I wasn’t just running this for myself,” Calamia said. “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.”
The marathon is known for its flat track and fast times. Four world records have been set on the course. And this year, the marathon made history by introducing its first nonbinary division.
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.
Participants started in multiple waves, beginning with the men’s wheelchair wave at 7:20 a.m. The last wave started at 8:35 a.m.
As racers passed Drummond Place on Clark Street, one runner shouted, “Who’s got a Chicago Handshake ready?” as the crowd cheered.
Meanwhile, on Sedgwick Street, racers were serenaded by a five-piece band playing folk music. Neon signs read “Go random stranger, go” and “If I see you collapse I will pause your Garmin.”
The course was dotted with aid stations, including one just before the mile 9 marker, where two stages were covered in rainbow streamers and an LGBTQ flag. This station featured the Frontrunners/Frontwalkers of Chicago, an LGBTQ running and walking club.
Every year, members perform for racers passing by. This year’s theme was “Grease.”
Lindsey Carden, one of the members, who was performing as Rizzo, said the group will do two dances, with only one rehearsal under their belt.
But Carden was not fazed.
“The fact that I just get to give them a smile,” Carden said. “Once they turn that corner, and they hear this music, and then they see us looking like idiots — none of us are professional dancers — but we are doing our best and they see that.”
Their first performance of “You’re the One That I Want” started around 7:45 a.m. as the first wheelchair racer passed.
All roads inside Grant Park were set to reopen Sunday night. All roads will open by 6 a.m. Monday.
Chicago Marathon Medical Director Dr. George Chiampas said there were 17 hospital transfers from the race, a low number compared with past years with similar environmental conditions, he said.
The day started with a low of 51 degrees, before steadily rising throughout the morning, reaching a high of 68 by 3 p.m. The hottest race on record occurred in 2007, with a high of 89. That race was cut short and more than 300 runners were transported from the race in ambulances.
Chiampas expressed gratitude for the more than 1,500 medical volunteers on Sunday. He also said he was told by returning runners that this year had some of the most supportive crowds yet.
Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski said this year also marked a record number of racers affiliated with a charity. In 2019, the charity racers raised more than $27 million. This year the marathon is on track to beat that, Pinkowski said.
“All the indicators are out that we will have a new benchmark for fundraising,” Pinkowski said.
Welcoming nonbinary racers
This year, the marathon welcomed 70 nonbinary racers, said Jake Fedorowski, an advocate, runner and consultant to the marathon.
Whenever Fedorowski runs a race, they wear the yellow, white, purple and black nonbinary flag around their neck. This summer, as they crossed one finish line, they saw a spectator clapping and shouting in support.
“Just seeing that one person get excited by that representation is really what keeps me going,” they said. “It’s really not for me, it’s creating a space so that the next nonbinary person that comes through doesn’t have to do that, they can just show up as their full authentic self.”
Last fall, Fedorowski started a project to create a comprehensive guide to nonbinary inclusion in running, developing a website and sharing their insights across social media. They said the inspiration for this work came from deciding they would no longer participate in races that only offered men’s and women’s categories.
“I was done paying money to be misgendered,” Fedorowski said.
Emboldened by the successes of races like the Philadelphia Distance Run, they realized it was possible to create an option outside the traditional gender options sports have always been based on. They created a public spreadsheet to track races that offered a nonbinary division and began reaching out to notable races to offer their services, including the Chicago Marathon.
Fedorowski learned the Chicago Marathon was already set to offer a nonbinary division for 2022 due to a decision by its management company, Chicago Event Management. However, this division is only for the general population and not the elite divisions.
Several nonbinary runners, including Calamia, have criticized the quiet addition of the division, since there was no public announcement of the option.
“To have the support of the marathon that’s public that says, ‘We’re proud of this category, we stand behind the decision we made to have this category’ — that is what it takes to protect us,” Calamia said.
Cade Gruendl, 30, a co-president of Frontrunners/Frontwalkers, said they are excited the marathon offered this division.
“I think we can celebrate this as very momentous, very recognizable to the community, but also note that this wasn’t made to be as momentous as it is,” they said.
Fedorowski said Blank Bruno won the first nonbinary division with a time of 2 hours, 47 minutes.
“It was exciting to anticipate that historic moment and witness it,” Fedorowski said.
While at the finish line, however, they said they didn’t hear any mention of the nonbinary racers by announcers. Now they are advocating for the marathon to highlight these racers on social media.
Pinkowski said he spoke with racers in the nonbinary division who expressed enthusiasm for this division. He said there is more work to be done and emphasized that this year was a first step.
“More to come,” Pinkowski said.
Elite athletes set their sights on records
With the nice weather and Chicago’s signature fast course, several elite athletes had records on their minds headed into the race.
This year’s first finisher was men’s wheelchair racer Marcel Hug, who set an unofficial course record of 1:25:20. Susannah Scaroni, an alum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:45:48.
The finish marks Scaroni’s first win in a marathon major and is a sign of an impressive recovery. She was hit by a car while training just over a year ago.
“I now have this unshakable appreciation to be alive, which translates into the road,” Scaroni said at the Friday news conference. “I’m so thankful I get to be here and race.”
Benson Kipruto of Kenya won the men’s race in 2:04:24, while Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya grabbed her second consecutive Chicago Marathon win, finishing the women’s race with the second fastest time ever, at 2:14:18.
Emily Sisson came in second in the women’s race, setting an unofficial American record of 2:18:29.
The Chicago Marathon today brought athletes to the city from around the world. It’s been canceled only twice since it began in 1977, first in 1987 due to insufficient funding and then in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Taking my life back’
The race also marked Jason DePetris’ return to Chicago.
The 44-year-old from Southern California was set to run the marathon in 2019. The day before the race, he went to a restaurant with his family, and his left hand went numb. His mom said his face was drooping, and he started to drag his leg as he walked. He was transported to the hospital and told he was having a stroke, later discovered to be due to a brain aneurysm.
After a yearslong winding path to recovery, he was able to start running again last year.
“I feel like this will be me kind of taking my life back,” he said of his participation in the race.
To DePetris, this race represents persistence, refusing to give up no matter how much you want to — something that is naturally analogous to recovery, he said.
“To me, it’s all about what can I do with the ability that I have,” he said.
Cheering him on along the course was Dr. Babak Jahromi, a neurosurgeon at Northwestern Medicine who treated DePetris three years ago. He was able to reunite with his former patient after the race.
“The absolute hero of this story is Jason,” Jahromi said before the race. “It’s a testament to his personal power and the tremendous family support he has, and it’s going to be great seeing him crossing the line.”