Chilly and clear, with temperatures near the freezing mark at the start, conditions one of the women's medallists called too cold
2009 Ballot results
The datasheet
Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2009 ballot: 32nd edition, 45,000 entrants
Sammy Wanjiru ran 2:05:41 to win the 32nd Bank of America Chicago Marathon on 11 October 2009, a course record and the fastest marathon ever run on US soil, one second inside Khalid Khannouchi's 1999 mark.
Edition
32nd edition
Applications not published by race organiser
Field size
45,000
Total entrants
Race day
Oct 11
2009
Time qualifier
M2:50 W3:20
Open category (18–34)
Race day weather
What runners faced on the course
Context
What made 2009 notable
The 32nd edition belonged to Sammy Wanjiru. On a chilly morning near freezing, the 2008 Olympic champion closed in 2:05:41 to break the course record by a single second and set the fastest marathon ever run on US soil, eclipsing Khalid Khannouchi's 1999 mark. Abderrahim Goumri and Vincent Kipruto chased him home inside 2:06:09. The women's result was later rewritten by doping: Liliya Shobukhova first crossed in 2:25:56, but her biological passport violation annulled everything from 9 October 2009, handing the official title to Germany's Irina Mikitenko in 2:26:31. Entry that year was open first come registration, which filled to the 45,000 cap by late April, with no lottery yet in place.
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 2009 ballot
Who won the 2009 Chicago Marathon?
Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya won the men's race in 2:05:41, a course record, ahead of Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri in 2:06:04 and Kenya's Vincent Kipruto in 2:06:08. Russia's Liliya Shobukhova first crossed the women's line in 2:25:56, but her result was annulled for a doping violation, leaving Germany's Irina Mikitenko the official winner in 2:26:31 ahead of Lidiya Grigoryeva and Teyba Erkesso.
Why is Sammy Wanjiru's 2009 Chicago time significant?
His 2:05:41 was a Chicago course record and the fastest marathon ever run on US soil at the time, one second inside Khalid Khannouchi's 2:05:42 set in Chicago in 1999. Wanjiru, the reigning Olympic champion, earned a 100,000 dollar bonus for the record on top of the winner's prize.
Why was the women's 2009 Chicago Marathon result changed?
Liliya Shobukhova of Russia originally won in 2:25:56, but her biological passport doping violation led to all of her results from 9 October 2009 being annulled. Germany's Irina Mikitenko was promoted to the official title in 2:26:31, with Lidiya Grigoryeva second and Teyba Erkesso third.
How did you enter the 2009 Chicago Marathon?
Entry was open first come registration, which opened on 1 February and filled to the 45,000 participant capacity by 23 April 2009, with charity and tour places the other way in. Chicago did not move to a non-guaranteed entry drawing until 2014, so no drawing acceptance rate or application count exists for 2009.
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