The 2012

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

was the 35th edition of the annual marathon race in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and was held on Sunday, October 7. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the fourth and final

World Marathon Majors The World Marathon Majors (WMM) (known for sponsorship reasons as the Abbott World Marathon Majors) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races reco ...

event to be held that year. Tsegaye Kebede won the men's race in a course record of 2:04:38 hours and

Atsede Baysa Atsede Bayisa Tesema, also known as Atsede ''Bayisa'' (born 16 April 1987), is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. She has won the Chicago Marathon, Boston Marathon and Paris Marathon twice. She has also ...

was the women's winner in a personal best of 2:22:03.Gugala, Jon (2012-10-07)
Course record for Kebede, Baysa dethrones Shobukhova - Chicago Marathon report
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-02. A total of 37455 runners finished the race (20688 men, 16767 women).

Summary

The focus of the women's race was Liliya Shobukhova, who had won the race three times consecutively but had dropped out of the

Olympic marathon The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the prog ...

. Kenya's

Lucy Wangui Kabuu Lucy Wangui Kabuu (born 24 March 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres events. She has represented Kenya twice at the Summer Olympics, finishing in the top ten of the 10,000 m race in both 200 ...

was the second-fastest entrant with a best of 2:19:34 hours. Other prominent entrants included Ethiopians Atsede Baysa and Merima Mohammed. Tsegaye Kebede and Wesley Korir, runners-up in 2010 and 2011 respectively, were the principal contenders for the men's race.Gugala, Jon (2012-10-05)
Three-time winner Shobukhova poised for a fourth in Chicago - PREVIEW
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-02. Demonstrating the depth of the field, the men's race had thirteen runners in the pack by the halfway point (timing 1:02:54) – all of them Kenyan or Ethiopian. By the time the two pacemakers (Shadrack Kosgei and Merkabu Birke) had dropped out around the 30 km mark, Tsegaye had assumed the head of the pack. Laban Korir and Michael Kipyego had fallen away at that point. Tsegaye accelerated and a succession of four sub-4:40 miles reduced the lead pack to himself,

Tilahun Regassa Tilahun Regassa Dabe (born 18 January 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who mainly competes in road running competitions. He has a half marathon best of 59:19 minutes and has won the Zayed International Half Marathon and Lille Half Marath ...

Sammy Kitwara Sammy Kirop Kitwara (born 26 November 1986 in Sagat, Marakwet District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. He is coached by Moses Kiptanui. As of January 2020 he is the 12th fastest half marathon runner in ...

and

Feyisa Lilesa Feyisa Lilesa (Afaan Oromo: Fayyisaa Leellisaa; born 1 February 1990) is an Oromo long-distance runner from Ethiopia. He became the youngest man to run under 2:06 when he ran 2:05:23 in the men's marathon at the 2010 Rotterdam Marathon. He se ...

. Wesley Korir was twenty seconds behind after 35 km. With one mile left, only Feyisa remained alongside Tsegaye, but the latter steadily pulled away in the final section of the race to win by a margin of fourteen seconds with a course record 2:04:38 hours. Feyisa took the runner-up spot and Tilahun completed the podium half a minute later. Kitwara and Wesley Korir were next to finish.

Dathan Ritzenhein Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of On Athletics Club. He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009-2010, when it was broken by Bernard ...

closed his race quickly to place ninth, the first non-East African to finish, with a personal record 2:07:47.2012 Chicago Marathon Leaderboard
Chicago Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-02-03. The women's race also had a number of contenders left as the race reached the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

mark in 1:11:15 hours, with two Russians, three Kenyans and four Ethiopians in the pack of nine. Kabuu seized the lead after this point and by 30 km she had divided the pack in two, with Fatuma Sado, Caroline Rotich and

Rita Jeptoo Rita Jeptoo (born 15 February 1981) is a Kenyan marathon runner. Originally a winner of the Boston Marathon three times, including setting the then course record at 2:18:57 in 2014, she had also won marathons in Chicago, Stockholm, and Milan ...

all five seconds ahead of Atsede, Shobukhova and

Werknesh Kidane Werknesh Kidane (; born November 21, 1981), is an Ethiopian long distance runner from Tigray who competes in both 5000 and 10,000 metres. She has won numerous medals at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and represented Ethiopia at the S ...

. Merima Mohammed was the first prominent race drop-out. Over the next 5 km Fatuma faded away and Atsede had pushed her way back to the front. Rotich soon fell behind and the final mile stretch became a hotly contested duel between Atsede and Jeptoo. Atsede was the one to reach the line first by a very narrow margin – 2:22:03 to Jeptoo's 2:22:04. Kabuu took third while Shobukhova finished quickly for fourth place. Renee Metivier Baillie was the first American home in a personal record run of 2:27:17 for eighth.2012 Chicago Marathon Leaderboard
Chicago Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-02-03. The men's

wheelchair race Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...

was won by Josh Cassidy and Tatyana McFadden defended her women's title.

Results

Elite men

2012 Chicago Marathon - lead men cropped

Elite women

2012 Chicago Marathon - lead women cropped

Wheelchair

;Men ;Women

References

;Race results
2012 Chicago Marathon results
Chicago Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-02-02.

External links

Official websiteKebede wins Chicago Marathon in course-record 2:04:38
{{World Marathon Majors 2012 Chicago Marathon 2010s in Chicago 2012 in Illinois