A mix of some of the best professional runners in the world and dedicated amateurs are lining up for the 2024 Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 13. One of the six world major marathons, the race is one of the most anticipated 26.2 mile treks of the year, so we've got all the details you need to know on how to watch the Chicago Marathon.
US: NBC Chicago | Olympics.com (free) | Peacock | FloTrack
UK: Eurosport | Discovery Plus
Watch abroad: NordVPN
In some parts of the world, you can watch the Chicago Marathon 2024 for free, including in the US using various local or Olympic-owned online streams. But don't worry if you're away while the race is taking place, because there are other global options as well.
The Chicago Marathon is one of the final big races in a huge year for running. In addition to the other major marathons, the Olympics in Paris saw exciting races take place. Now many of the best runners in the world are heading to the Windy City for this year's race. For the women that includes Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich (2022 Chicago Marathon winner) and Joyciline Jepkosgei, Ethiopia's Sutume Kebede and from the US Emma Bates, Keira D'Amato, Sarah Hall and Besty Sainan. Among the top men are Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese, Kenya's Amos Kipruto and the US's CJ Albertson.
The race is set to start at 8:20 am ET/5:20 am PT. Here's everything you need to know on how to watch.
How to watch the Chicago Marathon in the US
Those living in the Chicago area can watch the Chicago Marathon live on NBC Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago for English-language coverage and NBC Telemundo for Spanish-language coverage. These channels are available through either traditional pay-TV providers, TV antennas or live TV streaming services (ie, Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV). Live streams will be shown on the NBC Sports Chicago website for free.
If you're not in the Chicago area, don't worry, there are other options. Firstly, there's the Olympic Channel on your TV or the Olympics website, which will both be airing coverage of the marathon for free.
Then there's FloTrack, a streaming service for athletics that is hosting a live stream too. This is paid service costs $29.99 monthly or $149.99 annually (which is split into monthly payments equalling $12.49 each month). You can find FloTrack here.
A final option is Peacock, as NBC will livestream the race on its official streaming app for people around the US to watch. A Peacock subscription stars at $7.99 per month for the basic ad-enabled plan, Peacock Premium, or $13.99 to drop ads with Peacock Premium Plus.
Here is the official schedule for the Chicago Marathon:
- Men's wheelchair: 8:20 am ET/5:20 am PT
- Women's wheelchair: 8:21 am ET/5:21 am PT
- Handcycle: 8:23 am ET/5:23 am PT
- Men's & Women's elite: 8:30 am ET/5:30 am PT
- Wave 1: 8:30 am ET/5:30 am PT
- Wave 2: 9 am ET/6 am PT
- Wave 3: 9:35 am ET/6:35 am PT
How to watch the Chicago Marathon in the UK
Running fans in the UK can watch the 2024 Chicago Marathon on Eurosport and Discovery Plus, with coverage starting at 1:15 pm UK time.
You'll need to be signed up for Discovery Plus' Standard plan, costing £6.99 per month, as the Basic plan doesn't include Eurosport. The £30.99 TNT Plan does also include Eurosport so it'll cover it, but this tier is only worth signing up for if you'll watch lots of other sports too.
How to watch the Chicago Marathon everywhere else
If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch the Chicago Marathon, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune into live cricket or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at NordVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
