John Korir wins the men’s race at the 2024 Chicago Marathon

John Korir achieved a stunning win at the 2024 Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 13, finishing with an impressive time of 2:02:44. With an average speed of 4:40.8 minutes per mile, his remarkable performance marked the second-fastest finish ever recorded in the event's history and was over two minutes faster than his previous personal best.

Huseydin Mohamed Esa from Ethiopia secured the second spot with a time of 2:04:39, almost two minutes after Korir. Meanwhile, Amos Kipruto from Kenya came in third with a finish time of 2:04:50.

The race started with a tribute in silence for Kelvin Kiptum, the champion of the 2023 Chicago Marathon. His incredible finish time of 2:00:35 last year set a new world record. Tragically, Kiptum lost his life in a car accident in Kenya at the young age of 24, only four months after achieving this remarkable feat.

With ideal running weather—cool temperatures, no rain, and minimal wind—it was obvious from the start that we could expect some impressive times in Chicago this year.

A group of 10 top runners, accompanied by two pacemakers, started their race and reached the halfway point in 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 19 seconds, which translates to an average speed of 4 minutes and 45 seconds per mile. However, by the time they hit the 30-kilometer mark, the lead pack had narrowed down to seven runners.

As they reached the 20-mile mark, Korir decided to push forward, leaving the other runners behind, as none were prepared to keep up with his speed. He kept increasing his pace, completing the 5K stretch from 30 to 35 kilometers in an impressive 14 minutes and 1 second. Remarkably, he clocked his quickest mile at mile 22 with a time of 4 minutes and 23 seconds, and followed that with a 4:26 at mile 25.

"My training went really well, and my coach Ron Mann told me I could achieve a time of 2:02 – I trusted his words," Korir remarked after the race, also mentioning the motivation he found from his late fellow runner, Kiptum. "Knowing that Kiptum set the record last year inspired me to aim for my personal best."

While Korir spends much of the year in Kenya, he resides and trains in Colorado Springs during the time between the Boilermaker Road Race in July and the Falmouth Road Race in August.

The 27-year-old runner has just earned $100,000 for securing victory in the 2024 Chicago Marathon, marking a significant improvement over his past performances at this event. He finished third in Chicago in 2022 and followed that up with a fourth-place finish last year, clocking in at 2:05:09.

He also enjoys a sense of pride among his family, marking a significant achievement for the Korir family. His brother Wesley, a successful runner who claimed victory at the Boston Marathon in 2012, took second place at the Chicago Marathon in 2011 with a personal record of 2:06:13, which is now about a minute and a half slower than John's time. Wesley celebrated John's success with a post on social media, sharing some of the best advice John says he’s ever been given: "Have patience, trust in yourself, and have faith in God."

In this year's women's marathon, Kenyan runner Ruth Chepngetich amazed both her rivals and the audience with an incredible finish time of under 2:10, setting a new world record of 2:09:56. She broke the previous record of 2:11:53 held by Tigist Assefa by nearly two minutes. This remarkable achievement strengthens the claim that the Chicago Marathon is the quickest 26.2-mile event on the planet.