Humana Rock 'n' Roll Chicago

Course highlights

The 13.1-mile course for the race starts and finishes in Grant Park, the 319-acre park on the city’s downtown lakefront that is home to the world-famous Buckingham Fountain and the Art Institute of Chicago, both seen in many movies but perhaps most cleverly in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. A newly revamped course for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago race debuted last year, designed to incorporate more of downtown Chicago’s city streets and to include a crossing over the Chicago River. The race route takes runners through the streets of the Windy City’s downtown for the first two-thirds or so of the race, unfolding with a stretch outside Grant Park and heading out toward the Navy Pier. Runners will cross over the Chicago River twice in the first couple of miles, and then twice again right after passing the mile 3 marker. All of this part of the race is largely flat terrain. After runners pass the mile 9 marker, the race heads out onto the parks along Lake Michigan, taking them past Soldier Field, Chicago’s Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium and through the southern end of Grant Park before finishing in front of the Buckingham Fountain.