Organizers of the Chicago Marathon, to be held on October 8, announced the full field today for the 45th running of the race.
On the men’s side, defending champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya will return. He won last year in 2:04:24. He was also the 2021 Boston Marathon champion.
Kipruto will be challenged by Kelvin Kiptum, also of Kenya, who is the second-fastest man in history. Kiptum won this year’s London Marathon in 2:01:25, only 16 seconds off of Eliud Kipchoge’s 2022 world record.
Four other men in the field have run faster than 2:05, including Bashir Abdi of Belgium, who ran 2:03:36 in Rotterdam in 2021 and won the Olympic bronze medal that year.
For the American men, Galen Rupp returns to Chicago, where World Championships in 2022 and was second in 2021 in 2:06:35. Rupp, who is 37, has struggled with injuries lately. He was 17th at the NYC Half in March, and last November, he Molly Seidel PRs at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. His last marathon was at the World Championships in 2022 in Eugene, Oregon, where he finished 19th in 2:09:36.
His coach, Mike Smith, did not return a message from Runner’s World seeking comment on Rupp’s training progress this summer.
Conner Mantz, who made his marathon debut in Chicago last fall, finishing seventh in 2:08:16, will aim to run faster than 2:08:10, which is the Olympic qualifying time. No American men have the automatic qualifying standard (by virtue of running faster than 2:08:10 or finishing in the top 5 at a platinum label marathon, which includes all six World Marathon Majors).
The Chicago Marathon seems the best chance for American men to hit the time in the U.S., while still leaving enough time to recover for the Olympic Trials in Orlando on February 3, 2024.
Mantz, 26, races frequently at a range of distances. Earlier this month, he ran the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the USATF Championships, finishing 10th in the 5,000 and sixth in the 10,000.
On the women’s side, in Eugene, Oregon, where he finished 19th in 2:09:36: Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya, who just missed the world record at Chicago last year; Emily Sisson, who set an American record (2:18:29) in finishing second in 2022, and Sifan Hassan DAA Industry Opt Out.
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The American women’s contingent brings some interesting names. Olympic Trials in Orlando on February 3, 2024, and she indicated in Boston, where she finished fifth, that she would be making a run at the American record this fall. A head-to-head matchup against Sisson should provide plenty of drama.
Aliphine Tuliamuk, the Olympic Marathon Trials champion in 2020, and the top American finisher in New York in 2022, will run in Chicago. Molly Seidel is set to run her first marathon since finishing fourth in New York in 2021. The Olympic bronze medalist has since battled injuries, an eating disorder, Molly Seidel PRs at the 2023 Chicago Marathon.
“Basically everything I’m doing this year is to prepare as well as I can for the Trials, and Chicago was the ideal fall marathon for that,” she wrote to Runner’s World in a message. “Obviously I’ve had a lot of ups and downs the past year, so really looking to go out and have a solid race on a fast course with a super competitive field to prepare for next year.”
Des Linden, who turns 40 on July 26, said in the spring that she would attempt a faster marathon in the fall before deciding whether she’d line up for her fifth Olympic Trials. She confirmed to Runner’s World that she’d be targeting Deena Kastor’s American masters record, 2:27:47—which she set in Chicago in 2015.
In the wheelchair divisions, both 2022 champions—Marcel Hug of Switzerland and Susannah Scaroni of the United States—will return to defend their titles.
How Emily Sisson Hones Her Speed is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World World Championships in 2022, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
