The men’s race, highlighted by Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo, is the most competitive in event history. Nine athletes in this year’s event have run under 1:01:08, the course record set by Zouhair Talbi in 2025. Ebenyo, a silver medalist in the half marathon at 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships and in 10,000 meters at both the 2023 World Athletics Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games, is expected to set the pace early. He made his marathon debut at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2024, finishing in an impressive fifth place. Ebenyo’s half marathon personal best is 59:04.
Leading the men’s American field is Isai Rodriguez. The 26 year old, a 2023 Pan American Games gold medalist at 10,000 meters, ran his personal best of 59:57 at the Houston Half Marathon earlier this year. Joining Rodriguez is Reed Fischer, the 2023 Bank of America Chicago 13.1 champion, and Nathan Martin, 2026 Los Angeles Marathon champion.
The women’s field is headlined by Mexico’s Laura Galvan, a two-time Olympian (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) and 2019 Pan American Games gold medalist in the 5,000m. Galvan arrives in peak form after posting a personal best of 1:07:31 at the Houston Half Marathon in January, a National Record setting performance that establishes her as the clear favorite and a threat to the women’s course record of 1:09:36 set by Meseret Belete last year.
Alongside Galvan are five women with sub-1:10 personal bests, including Illinois’s own Lindsay Flanagan and rising star Molly Born. Flanagan, who has top 10 finishes at both the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America, joins the field with a 1:09:17 personal best set in Houston in 2025. Born made her marathon debut in December 2025, winning the USA Marathon Championships at the California International Marathon in 2:24:09. She has a half marathon personal best of 1:09:43 set in Atlanta earlier this year. On the international side, Joyline Chemutai (KEN) will also be competing for the top spot.
The 2026 Bank of America Chicago 13.1 will once again welcome a wheelchair division, with 2025 defending Chicago 13.1 champion Daniel Romanchuk (USA) leading the men’s race and nine-time Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion Tatyana McFadden (USA) making her Chicago 13.1 debut.
Media interested in covering the 2026 Bank of America Chicago 13.1 are encouraged to email the event media team at [email protected].
More than 10,000 runners are expected to participate in the fifth annual Bank of America Chicago 13.1, which starts and finishes in Garfield Park. For the latest event updates, registered participants and community members are encouraged to visit the Event FAQ, available at chicago13point1.com.
Professional Men’s Field
CarLee Stimpfel, USA, Debut
Professional Women’s Field
About the Bank of America Chicago 13.1
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