Kenya’s Eliude Kipchoge won the 2014 Chicago Marathon on Saturday in a time of 2:04:11.
The 29-year old ran a 1:02:11 first half and finished it with a slight negative split of 1:02:00 over the last 13.1 miles. It was a tight top-3 with less than 21 seconds separating the three.
His fellow countrymen helped sweep the podium with second place going to Sammy Kitwara in 2:04:28 and third place going to Dickson Chumba in 2:04:32.
The highest finishing American was Bobby Curtis finishing in 9th place in 2:11:20.
Rita Jeptoo Top Woman at 2014 Chicago Marathon
On the women’s side, the great Rita Jeptoo (Kenya) won the Chicago Marathon in a time of 2:24:35.
Second place went to Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba in 2:25:37 and third place to Kenyan Florence Kiplagat in 2:25:57.
Highest finished American woman was Amy Hastings in 5th place with a time of 2:27:03.
The prevalence of marathons has exploded in the past decade across the United States, and the entry fee for these races has exploded at the exact same pace.
So we have compiled the list below of The Most Expensive Marathons in the United States that we could find. We are sure there are many that aren’t on this list that we haven’t come across yet. Don’t worry! We’ll update the list as they come to our attention.
(The list is limited to 26.2 mile marathons. It does not include half marathons or ultramarathons.)
The Most Expensive Marathons in The United States
New York City Marathon – $255
Walt Disney World Marathon – $190
Chicago Marathon – $185 ($220 outside of the U.S.)
Los Angeles Marathon – $180
Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon – $180
Boston Marathon – $175 ($225 outside of U.S)
San Francisco Marathon – $165
Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon – $160
Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon – $150
Big Sur International Marathon – $150
Malibu International Marathon – $140
Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon – $140
Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis Marathon – $135
Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon – $135
Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon – $130
Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Marathon – $130
Twin Cities Marathon – $130
Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon – $130
Griffith Park Trail Marathon – $125
Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio – $125
Maui Oceanfront Marathon – $125
Flying Pig Marathon – $115
Marine Corps Marathon – $110
How much is too much to pay for a 26.2 mile marathon? What’s your financial limit for a marathon?
So which marathons did we miss that deserve to be on this list? Email us at runitfast@gmail.com with the name of the race, price, and date of the race. You can tweet us on Twitter @runitfast as well.
Where Run It Fast Runners Are Running This Weekend (Oct 6-7, 2012)
Storified by Joshua Holmes · Fri, Oct 05 2012 10:34:44
@runitfast Yellowstone-Teton 100 Miler – gonna be a cold one. Low of 24 deg Sat night. #runitfastJoshua Holmes
@runitfast Crewing @bayou at Yellowstone-Teton 100 and going to get a couple of runs in for fun! So far it’s beautiful! #IdahoFallsLisa Gonzales
@runitfast STP Marathon in Winchester, TN this Saturday. Weather looks great!Danny Staggs
Off to @ChiMarathon #ChicagoMarathon for @BoMFnyc @backonmyfeet http://tinyurl.com/runkinobomfnyc ! Looking to @RunItFast er than my 4:52:16 time in 2008Hideki Kino 木下秀樹
@absolut_zer0 @runitfast @c2crelay have a great run #GoGetItLeigh Marsh
@runitfast Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon http://j.mp/p54C1T. #runitfastDennis Arriaga
@runitfast Chicago Marargon baby!!!!!elizabeth v rehmer
@runitfast STP 1/2 marathon in Winchester, TNRobin Robbins
@runitfast Saturday- summer 2 mi xc series final(Moscow) Sunday-Serpukhov Half @50k race pace (unless I sleep in ) 2+hrs south of MoscowMichelle Mitchell
@runitfast Running @steamtown26. Hoping for no rain!Robin
@runitfast Portland Marathon!Josh Liggett
Let’s #runitfast! RT @JohnHulsey: Texas Toast Team, Van 1. We’re ready to run! #c2c3 #c2ctxtoast http://pic.twitter.com/u9SgIDi1 cc: @runitfastNicholas L. Norfolk
@runitfast @beukdeup and I will be running the StumpJump 50k on Signal Mtn in Chattanooga TN. #runitfastDavid J. Pharr
@runitfast Stump Jump 50k in Chattanooga.Nathan Judd
@runitfast st George marathon.Jason Howard
@runitfast – I’m going to run the Chapel of the Cross 5k Saturday morning. It’s just down the road from my house in Madison, MS. #runitfastNathan Bass
@runitfast Tyler Rose Half MarathonChristy Bowers
@runitfast I hate to admit it, but I worked in a 1 mile run today. My life has gotten in the way of training & I have 15k next wkend. Yikes!CharmedTortoise
@runitfast Running a half in Evansville, IN this Sunday.Barbara Mitchell
@runitfast Saturday, Marine Corp Half Marathon – Jacksonville, FL.E. Smith
@runitfast Cape Gate 5k, Cape Town ZA.Daniel Malan
@runitfast the Ormskirk 10k, England Lyns Rimmer
@runitfast st. George yeah!lisa trevino
@runitfast Chapman 5K in Orange CA with 115 kids and parents from St. John’s Lutheran Church and School! http://pic.twitter.com/oR9gUre4Jeff Courvoisier
@runitfast Rock ‘N’ Roll San Jose Half. #RnRSJFrancis L.
@runitfast The Hogweed Muggles in Gloucestershire tomorrow morning. 15 miles of muddy fun :)RunningAddictAndrew!
@runitfast 12-miler, likely in Kensington Park west of Detroit.don morris
@runitfast wooot! Doin my 10th halfmara in Kelowna at the @okanaganmara Awesome #roadtrip tomoz!TinaFab
@runitfast Portland Marathon !!!Trish Spinar
@runitfast chicago marathon! my first one ever and i am psyched!victoria grabner
“@runitfast: 55 Responses So Far: Where Are you running/racing this weekend? http://runitfast.com/2012/10/05/where-run-it-fast-runners-are-running-this-weekend-oct-6-7-2012/” @LWFallClassic Race in #Winnipeg!Drew Gourdie
@runitfast @chestermarathonIan Richards
@runitfast 20 miles on the Delaware toepathamy dedic
@runitfast back home in the Netherlands after doing four runs on this four day trip to ArgentinaHedzer
The Chicago Marathon has denied a request from 7-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong to run there in October.
The decision comes after a USADA ruling that stated Armstrong was guilty of using performance enhancing drugs for the past decade.
The USADA has stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France championships and banned him from all sports according to Runner’s World.
The road running community has been waiting to see if USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport, would enforce the ban on Armstrong. As a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency code, USATF is bound to enforce rulings by WADA and USADA.
The ban in other sports such as road running and triathlon has not been popular.
“It seems a little over the top to pursue him beyond the cycling arena to me,” said John Conley, whose company owns and operates the Livestrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon.
Do you agree with the decision of the Chicago Marathon to keep Lance Armstrong out of their race?
Do you believe Armstrong used blood doping or performance enhancing drugs during the marathons he’s run over the past few years?
The 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will take place on October 7, 2012 in the Windy City.
Registration for the marathon starts tomorrow (Feb 1, 2012) at noon.
The first 45,000 to register for the race will get in. Unlike Boston, Chicago is a first come-first serve for registration. It took less than 3-weeks last year for the race to sell out.
The price will be $150 for U.S. Citizens and $175 for non-U.S. Citizens.
Chicago is known for being one of the fastest marathon courses in the United States.
“I got the OK from my doctor to run half, and my husband ran with me and supported me along the way,” Miller told WGN-Channel 9 from her bed at Central DuPage Hospital. “I ran half and walked half, that’s how I finished.
Amber was 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant at the start of the Chicago Marathon.
Miller’s husband ran/walked the marathon with her but couldn’t keep up the last few miles and finished a short distance behind her.
“But I think just from running throughout the pregnancy, I’d usually get a contraction here or there anyway,” she said. “But then, a few minutes after I finished, I started feeling the contractions and they were coming every five minutes. So I think we waited an hour or so just to kind of make sure it was real labor. They were pretty consistent at that point.”
The worst thing that will happen from Miller’s ‘feat’ is that other women, that are addicted to running, will ignore the risks, doctor’s, and common sense in trying to do the same thing at future running events. All women and all pregnancies aren’t equal. I’d hate for anyone to lose a baby attempting such a selfish endeavor.
“Is this normal? Obviously not,” said James Pivarnik, a professor of kinesiology and epidemiology at the University at Michigan State University who wrote the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy.
But he said he applauds her doctor for allowing her do it. “Generally what we say is let the woman’s symptoms and history dictate what she can do,” he said. “She is obviously just one of those freaks who was able to do it. Most people wouldn’t want to.”
It’s vital, as athletes, to listen to our bodies and common sense when trying to reach our goals or finish a race.
Marathon running, like any extreme sport or life in general has its risks, today firefighter William ‘Will’ Caviness, from North Carolina, died while running the Chicago Marathon.
He was declared dead at a Chicago hospital after collapsing in the last 500 yards of the 26.2 mile race.
Asked what his family felt as the charity effort transformed instantly into a tragedy, his uncle, Bill Caviness of Tennessee, choked back tears and came up with one word.
“Disbelief,” he said.
“He was very fit, a tremendous runner.”
His death marked the first in the marathon since 2007, organizers said. Caviness’ death was the sixth fatality at the event since 1998, according to Tribune archives.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in this time of grief and sadness.
