Cold. Catherine Ndereba called it the coldest race conditions she had run in
2001 Ballot results
The datasheet
Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2001 ballot: 24th edition, 28,390 finishers
Kenya's Catherine Ndereba won the 24th LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on 7 October 2001 in 2:18:47, a women's marathon world record that took 59 seconds off the time Naoko Takahashi had set only one week earlier in Berlin.
Edition
24th edition
Applications not published by race organiser
Field size
28,390
Total finishers
Race day
Oct 7
2001
Time qualifier
M2:50 W3:20
Open category (18–34)
Race day weather
What runners faced on the course
Context
What made 2001 notable
Chicago 2001 capped the greatest week women's marathon running had ever seen. Seven days after Naoko Takahashi became the first woman under 2:20 in Berlin, Catherine Ndereba went faster still, the Kenyan running 2:18:47 to take 59 seconds off the world record on a cold Chicago morning she said was the coldest she had ever raced in. She finished more than six minutes clear of the field. The men's race produced its own twist: Ben Kimondiu, hired only as a pacemaker, stayed clear to win in 2:08:52, holding off Paul Tergat by four seconds in a finish covered by eight seconds across the top three. The race drew 28,390 finishers.
Year over year
Applications over time
Applications · 2022 → 2026
80K86K123K160K200K
'22'23'24'25'26
Qualifying
Time qualifier standards
View full age-group standards
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 18-34 | 2:50:00 | 3:20:00 |
| 35-39 | 2:55:00 | 3:25:00 |
| 40-44 | 3:00:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 45-49 | 3:10:00 | 3:40:00 |
| 50-54 | 3:15:00 | 3:50:00 |
| 55-59 | 3:25:00 | 3:55:00 |
| 60-64 | 3:40:00 | 4:15:00 |
| 65-69 | 3:55:00 | 4:30:00 |
| 70-74 | 4:15:00 | 4:45:00 |
| 75-79 | 4:30:00 | 5:00:00 |
| 80-84 | 4:50:00 | 5:20:00 |
| 85-89 | 4:50:00 | 5:20:00 |
| 90+ | 4:50:00 | 5:20:00 |
FAQ
Questions about the 2001 ballot
Who won the 2001 Chicago Marathon?
Kenya's Catherine Ndereba won the women's race in 2:18:47, a world record, ahead of Ethiopia's Elfenesh Alemu in 2:24:54 and Australia's Kerryn McCann in 2:26:04. Kenya's Ben Kimondiu won the men's race in 2:08:52, ahead of Paul Tergat in 2:08:56 and Peter Githuka in 2:09:00.
Why was the 2001 Chicago Marathon historic?
Catherine Ndereba set a women's marathon world record of 2:18:47, taking 59 seconds off the 2:19:46 that Naoko Takahashi had run in Berlin only one week earlier. It capped the first week in which two women had broken the world record, and Ndereba finished more than six minutes clear of the field.
How many people finished the 2001 Chicago Marathon?
The 2001 race recorded 28,390 finishers.
Did the 2001 Chicago Marathon use a ballot or lottery?
No. The 2001 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon used open registration, not a non-guaranteed entry drawing, so no ballot acceptance rate or application count exists for this edition. The race recorded 28,390 finishers.
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