Y’all the post race bloat, blues, & starvation is hitting me so hard today. Please tell me I’m not alone - running NYC in a few weeks too so feel like I’ll be made of bread by then!!!

Hi all, congrats to everyone who ran the Chicago Marathon this year! I didn’t get in through the lottery and I’ve already put my name in for 2027.

Standing at the finish line, I decided I’m running it next year one way or another, lottery or charity.

I was out on the course Sunday cheering for a friend and brought my camera along. Ended up with about 580 photos from four spots, and they’re all free to download, no sign up needed.

Mile 1 (Grand Ave): 8:13 to 9:03 AM

Halfway (Wells St): 10:44 to 10:58 AM

Chinatown, Mile 21: 12:34 to 12:41 PM

Finish line: 1:34 to 1:37 PM

If you check the time of day on your splits, you can jump straight to the right set. Mile 1 is broken into 10 minute chunks since that’s where most of the photos are.

https://vynframes.pixieset.com/chicagomarathon2026freera.../

Full disclosure, I’m new to this and this was my first time shooting a race, so any feedback is welcome. Hope a few of you find yourselves in there!

#vynframes #runningphotography #chicagomarathon2026 #chicagomarathon2026photos

If you like my work, please do tag https://www.instagram.com/vyn.frames/

Hoping to score one after completing my first major......does anyone know if adidas will re-release? Thanks!

Hope everyone is recovering smoothly from Sunday!

I've run the Chicago marathon a few times, and is it just me, or has the number of people offering free Malört or shots of alcohol on the course increased throughout the years?

I remember there usually being only a few scatterings of spectators offering shots of Malört to foolish exhausted runners, and usually they were towards the end of the race. This year, it almost seemed to me like there was at least one Malört-refreshment stand per mile, and usually more than one per mile.

For the record, I have nothing against any spectators offering alcohol to runners or runners drinking on the course, i'm just curious at how often runners take them up on their offers.

Have we reached a tipping point with “influencers” running Chicago and other world majors? Given the demand for a bib at Chicago, what is any “influencer” going to do to further drive up demand?

I thought I would create a thread for us local runners looking for the deep discount race merch at the local Nike outlet stores…

When you start seeing merch, please name the store and types of apparel that you are seeing.

Of course it’s nice this coming Sunday!

I’m not surprised and was almost expecting to get sick with all the people at the expo, the race, and weakened immune system from the race. Just curious if a lot of us caught a cold. I started feeling symptoms on Tuesday morning.

Ran my first Marathon this past weekend.....UGH SO MUCH FUN. Can't wait to do it all again soon. I thought it was interesting how everyone thought the conditions were pretty poor for this race. As a Florida native, I thought the weather was perfect 😆... I knew running in the Florida heat would make running in Chicago "easier" but I honestly did not think by that much of a margin lol. Shout out to all the other runners this weekend, what a cool experience!!

Is Anyone Else Starving?

I ran the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, and I’m now convinced my stomach is an endless pit. 😂 I actually struggled to get enough calories and carbs in before the marathon, I managed it, but it was WORK. Now I can’t seem to eat enough.

How long does this last?! How much food are you all eating during recovery? And at what point does my stomach realize we’re no longer training for a marathon? Because I’m starting to get nervous, LOL.

I just did the chicago marathon and was wondering based on previous runs what you thought my time would be. m27 These runs were done at 4500 to 5000 feet.

Just wondering if anyone else pre-ordered this or has in the past and knows how long it takes to ship? Thanks.

For those of you who did the marathon this weekend, congrats!!

How did you celebrate? How do you plan to celebrate? If you can’t tell, I’m looking for celebration ideas!

Edit: I didn’t run - looking for ideas to celebrate my runner!!!

16 minute PR and 28 minute course PR for myself! If you want to see more
Tik tok and IG: Beekshow

i was fully in bed on sunday, sore and wobbly stayed home monday, walked 10k steps but legs felt really sore and partially waddling and today i’m still walking slow but less awkwardly!

Ran my first marathon (very slow 5:30) on Sunday. Loved every second of the high of being in Chicago and accomplishing something hard! Especially when the heat hit me and the wall felt insurmountable around mile 19. The last two days (Monday/tuesday) I’ve felt sore but great mentally. Today (Wednesday) I am so tired, eyes feel so dry and heavy, muscles finally recovering but mentally I am on a different planet. I don’t feel depressed, I just feel “blah”. Is this normal? Just coming down from the high and training? I am struggling today with feeling content and normal tasks like laundry or cooking feel hard. What a rollercoaster this has been.

any chance anyone has an extra Lululemon chicago marathon sweatshirt size L or XL 😅 I went at opening on saturday but they were already sold out 💔

does anyone know if they restock these if you want to order online? currently chicago and berlin are sold out

Does anyone know when Nike moves the merch to the Gurnee outlet? And also if it will be at the Aurora outlet this year too? Or Rosemont?

I’m sure this is shared a lot in here, but man shoutout to everyone who volunteered and worked the marathon and made it such an awesome experience and saving so many people both physically and mentally. It was a tough day out there but I keep reading awesome stories about the help and assistance everyone received. This was my first marathon and I just can’t get over how amazing the support is throughout the day.

My personal story isn’t crazy, but it motivated me to make this post. I had just hit the 26 mile mark. I had run a race I was proud of and persevered through the heat mostly fine. At that point as I made the turn up Mt. Roosevelt, both of my quads started to tighten and spasm, I thought oh no not now. I walked for a sec, tried again and my hamstring started to do it. I had just made it through the ungodly 4 mile stretch in the sun and was borderline delirious. Then like an angel, standing a few feet in front of me was one of the biofreeze people. She saw me struggling and asked if I needed help. I told her I did, she applied it quickly and I was on my way with only the finish line on my mind. Wish I could thank this woman. Saved me when I needed it! So this is my way of trying to.

If anyone else has awesome stories from the staff and volunteers, would love to make a space to tell those. Maybe they’ll read this and see it!

A Chicago-based content creator with the Instagram handle @itsjdwill publicly posted on his story just a few weeks before the Chicago Marathon, stating, “I have dinner for anyone that can get me a bib for the Chicago Marathon.”
Apparently, going through the proper channels to secure a bib doesn’t apply when you have influence in the fitness community.
He allegedly went on to secure a bib from a friend, but not only that, PUMA also stepped up and may have asked him to wear their products during the marathon and post pictures before and after for promotional content.
The problem is that no one seems to hold these content creators to any standard. It’s very much like a baby being coddled when they do something wrong.
Bib number #71840 was reportedly registered to another individual.
The Chicago Marathon’s official rules outline the following potential consequences:
Violation
Official consequences
Running with another person’s bib
Removal from the course and possible disqualification from future events
Selling, giving away, or transferring a bib
Disqualification and/or a ban from future events for anyone involved
Finishing under an improperly assigned bib
Disqualification and removal from official results
Now, the questions are: Will these two individuals be held to the appropriate standards, or are we going to turn a blind eye again in this sport for the sake of content and likes?
As far as the brand sponsorship goes, what should happen to them? Did their team do its due diligence?
The problem I believe exists in this sport is that neither the brands nor the individuals seem to face any repercussions because it increasingly feels like a “who you know” business.
So, for everyday runners who can’t run a sub-three-hour marathon or don’t have the influence to raise significant funds for a cause, the opportunity to participate in these races can feel almost impossible.
These are people who train for months, sometimes years, hoping for a chance to stand at the starting line. Yet, when someone with influence appears to bypass the process, we’re supposed to look the other way?
The Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Medal will remain nothing more than a dream for many everyday runners.
And that’s what makes this so disappointing. Running is supposed to be a sport built on hard work, perseverance, fairness, and integrity. Those values shouldn’t disappear just because someone has followers, brand sponsorships, or connections.

⸻

Written by Rich Samaroo
Edited for grammar, clarity, and structure with assistance from ChatGPT (OpenAI).

Share all the Nike signs you saw.

I was in the pain cave and missed a lot of them .

It's always a fun Easter egg hunt mind game during the 25k to 40k looking for those things.

2025 season they had a ton more all over the city AND on the course.

Hi all! First of all, congrats to all the finishers! I was volunteering a bit before mile 19 and took my digicam, wanted to share the pics I was able to take before havaing to hand out propel like crazy! https://www.photo-pick.com/online/0mkkedvU.link