Dating back to its inception in 1977, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon has been at the center of marathon running for nearly half a century, and across the 47 times it's been contested, an American has only broken the tape a total of 21 times on either side.

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It's been over two decades since Deena Kastor came charging down Michigan Avenue in 2005, and nine years since Galen Rupp won his first world major in 2017.

Although there have been a handful of American winners over the years, it's been 44 years since a pair of Americans took home wins, heading all the way back to 1982 when Greg Meyer and Nancy Conz accomplished the feat in the Windy City.

In fact, that marked the end of a six-year streak of U.S. dominance, which began with the inaugural race in 1977.

Since then, the race and distance have been simply dominated by the Kenyans, who have won 12 titles on the women's side and 20 more on the men's, far and away the most by any country.

Since 2000, 28 of the 50 possible titles have been won by someone representing the red, green, and black, while only four have been won by Americans, and only two of those by American-born athletes.

Is there a chance that one of the two titles falls into the hands of an American once again?

As cool as it would be for an American sweep or even a lone American win, it's going to be an absolute dogfight for the red, white, and blue.

Clayton Young, Charles Hicks, & Vinny Mauri Chasing Mantz' Record

To be fair, there are a lot of elite American entries this year, and even though American record holder Conner Mantz will be on the sidelines this time around, Clayton Young, Charles Hicks, and Planet Fitness legend Vinny Mauri have their sights set on Mantz's record and the best showing from an American man in years.

Back in September, Young made his intentions incredibly clear: he wanted to break his training partner's American record. The 2:05:41 marathoner (2:08:00 if we're not including Boston) also cleared the air and has been transparent about the fact that he plans on racing this weekend with a torn hamstring.

Young may seem crazy, but he's far from it. Through his YouTube channel, the 33-year-old walked through his conversation with his doctor and eventually came to the conclusion that training and running through this injury could make it worse, but ultimately won't cause any long-term damage.

The 10th-fastest marathoner in U.S. history has been a force to be reckoned with over the past few years, but will still have his work cut out for him as he chases the American record and the top American spot.

The previously mentioned Hicks ran his first marathon last year in New York, running 2:09:59, before running 2:04:35 in Boston this past April, a result that doesn't count in the official lists due to it being net downhill.

Regardless, Hicks is a threat to Young and much of the field and has untapped potential as he comes off a huge training block, which, similar to Young's, has been documented through his personal YouTube channel.

In his first official marathon where he's eligible to represent the United States, Hicks will make his Chicago debut with high hopes and a world-class field that could produce history.

One of the biggest stories of the weekend is well-known treadmill trainer Vinny Mauri, who formally introduced himself at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio, of all places, where he ran the fourth-fastest time in American history, 2:05:54.

Only adding to the lore, Mauri trains primarily on the treadmills at his local Planet Fitness and is self-coached.

He hasn't raced since he finished on the turf at the Glass Bowl Stadium, home of the Toledo Rockets, but, just like his compatriots, is on the heels of a tremendous and downright unprecedented training block and is in contention to break Mantz's mark on the same course where he set the record last October.

2017 champion Galen Rupp and Abbabiya Simbassa round out the Americans with sub-2:07 PBs, but a contingent of 10 more men under 2:10 are hot on their trail.

Last year's champion, Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, is returning to defend his title and better his lifetime best of 2:00:28, and perhaps challenge the late Kelvin Kiptum's course record of 2:00:35 from 2023.

Last year's runner-up Amos Kipruto (KEN) returns, alongside six other stars, including Milkesa Mengesha (ETH), Tadese Takele Bilil (ETH), Bashir Abdi (BEL), Daniel Mateiko (KEN), Asrar Hiyrden (ETH), and Suguru Osako (JPN), who step to the line all with sub-2:05 performances to their name, while all but Osako enter with marks below 2:04.

Sara Hall Headlines American Women, Born & Hurley Ready For Big Days

The women's race has the makings of excitement of its own, while a few legends of the sport are back and ready to roll, along with a few up-and-comers who are either making their debut or back on the line after incredible runs early in their careers.

The fastest American entry on Sunday will be Sara Hall, who is still one of the top marathoners in the country at 43 years young. Over the last 11 years, Hall has finished 24 marathons, spanning World Championships, U.S. Olympic Trials, and the six original World Marathon Majors, not including Sydney and Cape Town, which were both added within the last year and a half.

With two marathons to her name in 2026, including a runner-up finish at the Houston Marathon and a 21st-place showing in Boston, there shouldn't be any doubt that she's in a spot to be one of the top Americans, if not the first to cross the line.

Susanna Sullivan is the only other American woman toeing the line with a sub-2:22 seed time, as the two-time World Championships qualifier and fourth-place finisher last summer in Tokyo has similar aspirations to Hall.

2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden is in the field, along with Sara Vaughn and Natasha Rogers, who own PBs of 2:22:38, 2:23:24, and 2:23:28.

Molly Born and Emma Grace Hurley are two of the newer names to watch, with the former making an electric debut last December in Sacramento, winning the California International Marathon in a new course record of 2:24:10. Hurley, on the other hand, has never run a marathon before, but made her international debut at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Denmark on September 20, where she ran 1:06:23 for a half marathon, which was a 72-second improvement on her previous best.

In addition to the hometown favorites, one of the most competitive marathon fields in history was assembled for this weekend's race, with 12 women coming in with sub-2:20 times, including Brigid Kosgei (KEN) and Hawi Feysa (ETH).

Kosgei's only race of the year has been a 2:14:29 effort in Tokyo in March, where she won by over two minutes. Feysa has also only raced once this year, finishing runner-up to Kosgei in that same race.

Sutume Kebede (ETH), Megertu Alemu (ETH), Brillian Kipkoech (KEN), and Sharon Lokedi (KEN) will be in attendance, all hoping to knock off Kosgei and Feysa, the defending champ.

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

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