John Korir wins the men’s race at the 2024 Chicago Marathon
John Korir claimed victory in emphatic fashion at the 2024 Chicago Marathon on Sunday (13 October), clocking a phenomenal time of 2:02:44 in the US city. Moving at an average pace of 4:40.8 min/mile, this huge performance was the second-fastest time in the race’s history and a personal best by more than two minutes for Kenyan Korir.
Huseydin Mohamed Esa of Ethiopia finished second in 2:04:39, nearly two minutes behind Korir, while Amos Kipruto of Kenya placed third in 2:04:50.
The race began with a moment of silence for Kelvin Kiptum, the 2023 Chicago Marathon champion whose jaw-dropping performance of 2:00:35 last year doubled as the current world record. Kiptum was killed in a car accident in his home country of Kenya, at the age of 24, just four months after running this world-leading time.
With cool temperatures, no rain and little wind offering perfect running conditions, it was clear from the off that we’d see some more fast times in Chicago this year.
A pack of 10 leading men, guided by two pacers, set off to then cover halfway in 1:02:19 – equating to an average pace of 4:45 min/mile. By the 30km mark, though, this front group had winnowed slightly to seven.
Move on to mile 20 and Korir had made his decision to surge ahead, with no other runner able or willing to match this move. From there, Korir continued to pick up the pace, covering the 5K distance between 30km and 35km in just 14:01. Astoundingly, he ran his fastest mile (4:23) at mile 22, and mile 25 in 4:26.
‘My training was good, and my coach [Ron Mann] told me I could run 2:02 – and I believed him,’ said Korir after the race, noting also the inspiration he drew from his late countryman Kiptum. ‘If Kiptum could run the fastest time last year, I would try to run my personal best.’
Although Korir is based in Kenya for most of the year, he lives and trains in Colorado Springs in the period between the Boilermaker Road Race in July and Falmouth Road Race in August.
The 27-year-old now takes home $100,000 for winning the 2024 Chicago Marathon, not to mention a welcome upgrade on his previous finishes at this race. He placed third in Chicago in 2022, then fourth last year in 2:05:09.
He also earns bragging rights within his own family, making it something of a Korir highlight. His brother Wesley – another accomplished runner who won the Boston Marathon in 2012 – finished second at the 2011 Chicago Marathon in a personal best time of 2:06:13, which is now around a minute and a half off John’s mark. Wesley congratulated his brother with a post on social media, as well as some of the best advice that John said he’s ever received: ‘Be patient and believe in yourself and believe in God.’
Meanwhile, in this year’s women’s race, fellow Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich stunned competitors and spectators alike with her sub-2:10 victory and astonishing new world record of 2:09:56. Having surpassed Tigist Assefa’s previous world record of 2:11:53 by almost two minutes, Chepngetich added weight to the argument that the Chicago Marathon is the fastest 26.2-mile race in the world.
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