CHICAGO – The team behind the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle and the Chicago running community are gearing up for the debut of the newest addition to the city’s premier racing portfolio, the Bank of America Chicago 13.1. On Sunday, June 5, more than 6,000 runners are expected to take part in this unique racing experience that will bring a world-class running event to the historic parks and boulevards of Chicago’s West Side. Leading the way on a course starting and finishing in Garfield Park is a field of talented elite athletes including three-time Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion Daniel Romanchuk and former Olympian Diane Nukuri.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to create an event on Chicago’s West Side,” said Carey Pinkowski, Executive Race Director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Shamrock Shuffle and Chicago 13.1. “The energy and enthusiasm we’ve seen from community groups and run clubs has been humbling. With their support, we hope to build an event that will be as iconic as the parks and roadways we’re running through and a point of pride for the city.”
The Bank of America Chicago 13.1 was first announced in the fall of 2019 with a vision to reimagine running events in Chicago, extending beyond the lakefront and creating a festival-like race experience for runners and community members alike. This year’s race begins to realize that vision with a 13.1-mile course route starting and finishing in Garfield Park, the oldest park on the West Side, and traveling through Humboldt and Douglass Parks while traversing the neighborhoods that line the boulevards connecting all three parks.
The unique architecture of each park will be on display, with Garfield Park’s Gold Dome Field House acting as the backdrop for the race day festival. The free outdoor celebration features a mix of entertainment, health and wellness activities and community activations. The festival is free and open to the public. A complete schedule of events will be announced race week.
A talented field of athletes with connections to the Midwest will join the inaugural field on race day. On the men’s side, local runner Colin Mickow (USA) will toe the line with Wilkerson Given (USA) and Abdulmuhsen Mubarak Alali (KUW). Mickow, from Second City Track Club, and Given, from the Hansons Brooks Distance Project, will return to the streets of Chicago following sixth and tenth place finishes at the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Alali will make his Chicago debut with the hope of besting his current 1:06:06 half marathon PR and current Kuwait national record. In the men’s wheelchair race, Daniel Romanchuck (USA) and Aaron Pike (USA) will go head-to-head in what is sure to be a fast race on the streets of Chicago’s West Side. Romanchuk, a three-time Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion, and Pike, third place finisher at the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, will be joined by several of their training partners from the esteemed University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign program.
In the women’s race 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon top American finishers Carrie Verdon (USA) and Diane Nukuri (USA), will join Mao Ichiyama (JPN), current Asian record holder in the marathon, and Chicago based Chirine Njeim (LBN), current Lebanon record holder in the half marathon and marathon. Ichiyama, whose half marathon personal best is 1:08:28, is using the Bank of America Chicago 13.1 to test her speed going into the 2022 World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon. Jenna Fesemyer (USA) and Susannah Scaroni (USA), some of the top competitors to emerge from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign program, will compete for the top spot in the women’s wheelchair race. Their recent Chicago finishes include a third-place finish at the 2021 Chicago Marathon for Fesemyer and first place finish for Scaroni at the 2019 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle.
Click here to view the complete elite start list here.
Entries into the inaugural race are still available. The registration fee is currently $95 and will increase to $115 at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, 2022. Runners can sign up for the event at chicago13point1.com.
Learn more about the 2022 event at chicago13point1.com.
About the Bank of America Chicago 13.1
The Bank of America Chicago 13.1 will offer runners a unique experience, bringing a world-class half marathon to the neighborhoods of Chicago’s West Side. The inaugural event will take place on Sunday, June 5, 2022. The event will debut a new kind of racing experience to the Chicago running community featuring a mix of fitness and lifestyle activations designed to inspire runners to connect with the communities where we live, work and run. A two-day Packet Pick-up will be held at the Roosevelt Collection in downtown Chicago on Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4. The weekend celebrations will culminate with the half marathon on Sunday, June 5. For more information about the event and how to get involved, go to chicago13point1.com.
