With its scenic course, flat terrain and a million spectators cheering them on, the Chicago course is popular with novice runners and elite marathoners alike. more ›

Moses Mosop, who ran the fastest time ever for a first-time marathoner in Boston a few months back, is confirmed for the Chicago Marathon. more ›

Last year we profiled David Kuhn, a blind running enthusiast who was left in the lurch for last year's Chicago Marathon when his guide runner had to cancel, only to have scores of volunteers respond to his last-minute request to find a replacement. more ›

The city has been plastered with "10-10-10" signs and banners for weeks now, promoting the Bank of America Chicago Marathon that takes place this Sunday, October 10, 2010. Beginning and ending in Grant Park, 45,000 runners have registered to run the 26.2 mile race that winds its way through 29 of Chicago's neighborhoods (course map PDF). more ›

Chicago goes crazy for marathons. So we’re not surprised WalkJogRun, a website that mashes up Google Maps with user-submitted running routes searchable by your location, hails from here. And since WolkJogRun provides useful stuff for any level of runner, we’re also not surprised it made TIME magazine’s list of Top 50 Websites for 2010. If you’re gearing up to train for your next half marathon or just want to get outside to enjoy the fall weather before it slips away, we’d recommend checking it out. more ›

Thinking of running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon? We're not sure why you'd want to torture yourself that way, but in case you do we're letting you know that registration has opened for the 2010 race. Entry costs $135.00 and you should act fast if you plan to run -- registration always fills up well in advance of the October race date. more ›

Strange, tragic happenings in Detroit where yesterday three runners died in a 16-minute span while participating in the Detroit Marathon. The men were identified as Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, MI; Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, OH, and Jon Fenlon, 26, of Waterford, MI. Weather conditions were good for running with temps around 28 degrees at the start of the race, rising to the low 40s throughout the morning. According to the Detroit Free-Press, Langdon collapsed at 9:02 a.m., near the intersection of Michigan Ave and First, between miles 11 and 12. Just 15 minutes later, Brown fell and hit his head a few blocks west of where Langdon had collapsed. A minute later, at 9:18 a.m., Fenlon collapsed just after completing the half-marathon, being run in conjunction with the full marathon. Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership, said medical personnel had excellent response times, arriving on each scene within seconds. Autopsies on all three men were expected today. more ›

Yesterday's Bank of America Chicago Marathon saw Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru set a course record of 2:05:41 and Russia's Liliya Shobukhova was the top woman finisher. In addition to the standard prize money for winning, Wanjiru also pocketed a $100,000 bonus for setting the course record -- but that almost didn't happen. Not aware of his record-setting pace or the bonus at stake, he waved to the crowd during the final stretch and ended up surpassing the old mark by a single second. more ›

The crisp, clear weather this morning was perfect for the 40,000-plus runners participating in this year's Chicago Marathon. As we write this, several thousand runners are still out on the course so watch out for those road closures which continue until mid-afternoon. But it didn't take long for the elite runners to cross the finish time. One, in fact, did so in record time. Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru blazed the course with a time of 2:05:41, breaking the course record by one second and capturing the men's title. Russia's Liliya Shobukhova had an impressive race of her own to take the women's title with a final time of 2:25:56. Shobukhova had an impressive split, running the second half of the race almost six minutes faster than the first. She was locked in a group of four runners late in the race but around the 25th mile, she surged away from the pack to claim the title. We'll have more on the race, including more photos, tomorrow. If you've got some you'd like to share, be sure to drop them off at the Chicagoist Flickr Pool. And a big congrats to everyone who participated in this morning's race! more ›

For an estimated 45,000 runners, months of training will culminate with the 32nd running of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, which will begin at 7:30am in Grant Park Sunday morning. The 26.2 mile race snakes through 29 of our city's neighborhoods, from the Loop north to Wrigleyville; looping back south and west through University Village, Little Italy, Chinatown and Bridgeport; before hitting the finish line back in Grant Park. The urban course creates an amazing tour of Chicago for the runners, while also being spectator friendly: over 1.5 million people are expected to stand on the sidelines cheering on friends, family or strangers. The marathon website offers spectator info. While the past two years have seen high temps create problems for runners, this year's race forecast calls for cool and rainy, with a high of about 50 degrees. more ›

Over 30,000 registered, but it was 13,714 brave souls who earned our respect downtown yesterday as they trudged through Mother Nature's early spring snow (a slushy, heavy one at that!) as part of the 30th Annual Shamrock Shuffle. The 8K (or 4.97 mile) race took place yesterday morning and, according to the race's website, here were the Top 5 finishers: more ›

As temps inched north of 80 degrees yesterday, the Chicago Marathon saw some medical calls, but the numbers were down from last year's heat-tarnished race. There were 110 "calls for medical transport" during this year's race, but only 61 required trips to hospital, compared to over 300 last year. Also down? The number of racers. While all 45,000 slots were filled, only 33,033 started. Itching for more Marathonage? Stop by our gallery if you haven't already. more ›

If you like exercise, and you love aviation...we wish we could make your muscle-powered plane dreams come true. Until then, though, there's a 5K on the new runway at O'Hare Sunday 21. Registration is $30 ($35 day-of) and closes September 17. [Chicago Events] more ›

It's gonna be a gorgeous weekend, folks, and if you fancy a bit of huffing and puffing with your Labor Day, be sure to register for the Nike + Human Race at Soldier Field Sunday. more ›

Nike is once again turning up the volume on our summer with its Nike + Human multi-city 10K race on August 31st. Twenty-five cities, from Tapei, China to Los Angeles, will host runs and activities with an eye towards charity - participants can raise money for any of the three Nike-chosen causes: The Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research, the World Wildlife Fund, and the UN's ninemillion.org program to offer aid to youth refugees. more ›

The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle closed off registration on Monday after reaching its 30,000 runner capacity. The event, now in its 29th year, is the kickoff to the outdoor running season and is Sunday, March 30; it includes both an 8K run and a 5K fitness walk. more ›

There's more than just choosing candidates for President at stake when the Illinois Primary rolls around February 5. For instance, in our home 3rd Congressional district, puppet incumbent Dan Lipinski is facing an actual opponent this time in Assistant State's Attorney Mark Pera. more ›

The clock is ticking, lovelies--get those presents purchased and fast. If you still need some last-minute help, though, take the Chicago bus to these three stores where we can practically guarantee you'll find something. We'll be running posts like this all week, so if you know the perfect store, drop us a line: tips@chicagoist.com more ›

A sad week for LAist as they lose their trusted and amazing editor Tony Pierce to the LA Times, but what a blast his last week was. He shared his 25 Favorite CDs of 2007 and wrote a great review of just a good movie, No Country For Old Men. At UCLA, thousands of students celebrated the end of their quarter by running around campus in their undies (lots of photos in a two-part photo essay, one, two). That wasn't the only photo essay either: Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy friends and Star Trek actors all joined in at the Writers Strike and KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas brought two nights of amazing bands that included Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park (Part I), Modest Mouse, Muse, Spoon and The Killers (Part II). Not only is L.A. a great music town, it has just been named the best city for bookish types. For those who are looking for something a little more active, American Gladiators are back (yes!) and if that's not enough, how about a Christmas gift of action and adventure? more ›

Wow, Alderman Tom Tunney has been having an interesting couple of months. First he gets a ticket for talking on his cell phone while driving and may have received special favors from the police department, then he makes a sweet deal and moves his flagship Ann Sather's, and now it's being reported that Tunney was the victim of an attempted holdup yesterday afternoon just a block from his 44th ward office. more ›

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Jim Oberweis campaign will be announcing “a major endorsement” today, and that that endorsement will be from Dennis Hastert. Oberweis is running for the 14th Congressional District seat that was vacated when former Speaker of the House resigned earlier this year. Although Hastert endorsed Oberweis for US Senator in the 2002 Republican primary, Jack Ryan won that race, later withdrawing after his (sexy) divorce files were unsealed. An... more ›

Liar, liar, half-man half-goat sculpture on fire! Turns out the Art Institute's "Faun" sculpture is a big fat forgery. The sculpture is not in fact the work of French post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin but is instead a fake, made by Shaun Greenhalgh, whose family has been running an international art forgery business from England for the last 17 years. The Art Institute bought the statue from a private dealer in 1997, and the dealer... more ›

...than Ed Smith's video blog? As alderman of the West Side's 28th Ward, Smith has a reputation as (sort of) an independent. Coming into office with Harold Washington in 1983, Smith was behind the smoking ban, has pushed for federal prosecution of former police commander Jon Burge, and generally annoys Mayor Daley. Now he wants to be Cook County Recorder of Deeds. As The Reader's Mick Dumke pointed out, this election may be the Year... more ›

Tomorrow Liar's Club is hosting the Fourth Annual Toy Drive To benefit the Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital Pediatric Playroom. They are hoping to provide toys and supplies to the KidsRehab program at the hospital. The folks at Liar's Club told us, "KidsRehab works with children who have sustained serious injury and need extensive physical, occupational and psychological rehabilitation." They need a whole bunch of stuff for the kids in the program (look after the jump for... more ›

Chicagoist demanded it, and Lovie listened. When the Bears face the Minnesota Vikings next Monday night, Kyle Orton -- our favorite drunky QB -- will once again line up under center. With a 5-8 record and three games to play, it's time for the Bears to start planning for the future. Rex Grossman's contract is set to expire, and he's done little to make the Bears want to commit to him for the long term.... more ›

Uck. Grey crappy icy Sunday afternoon. No Bears game - just the memories of Thursday's injury plagued horror. If only it were 1940 - it was during this weekend of that year that the most lopsided NFL games ever played took place - and the Bears whooped the Redskins' ass 73-0. The below video from that game is titled The Greatest Block in NFL History - it might not be the absolute greatest of all... more ›

There were some — certainly not here — who thought that the Bears' playoff hopes were still alive heading into Thursday night's game against the Washington Redskins. Returning to Chicago after losing 24-16 in D.C., they're not quite mathematically eliminated, but their hopes are undeniably dead. In addition to losing any hopes for making the playoffs, the Bears also lost quarterback Rex Grossman in the second quarter. While we await the official diagnosis, the replays... more ›

We really, really, wish we'd come up with the phrase "amuse-douche." Nicely done, Menupages. Chef Frank Brunacci is going to be at the helm of the restaurant in the yet-to-be-completed Trump tower. Michael Nagrant interviewed him and says he's "more of a haute comfort food purveyor than a food scientist," even though he likes to sling "shark bacon and olive oil ice cream." Check out the podcast here. File this under things we are pumped... more ›

The only thing worse than being on a Greyhound bus at 3:15 a.m. is having that bus spin out of control and crash. Luckily, no one was killed or seriously hurt, but 17 passengers were injured when a bus from Chicago wiped out in Indiana. more ›

Tatsu Aoki might be best known for his steady bass playing alongside Fred Anderson and Yoko Noge's Jazz Me Blues. He's also an educator (he teaches film at the Art Institute), founder and artistic director of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, record label head and producer, and a tireless musician exploring the limits of his instrument and himself. Aoki's endeavors earned him designation as a "Chicagoan of the Year" by the Tribune in 2001. more ›