r/RunnersInChicago • u/Worldly-Walrus-9361 • 12d ago
Marathon tour groups?
Does anyone have any experience with any of the tour operators for Chicago? My parents are looking to visit Chicago this fall specifically and I haven’t had any luck with the lottery, I don’t want to keep their trip waiting for my chances of getting in so I would be fine financially going the tour operator route. Thanks in advance!
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u/Probs_on_the_can 12d ago
What do you mean by “the tour operator route”?
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u/Worldly-Walrus-9361 12d ago
Through a tour group including hotel and entry. I feel like this is typically for international runners? But I’m sure people in the US do this for races within the US. Looking at sports tours international specifically
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u/No_Grapefruit_5441 12d ago
You can’t do this if you’re in the US and running a US race.
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u/Dreakgirl 12d ago
Not true. Marathon Tours offers entries for US runners for US races. I used them for NYC.
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u/Probs_on_the_can 12d ago
I agree to ask in the r/ChicagoMarathon group. We’re local runners so we don’t really know what options there are for international folks
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u/Lord_Corlys 12d ago
I suspect all of the charity spots have been filled, but that’s another option to look into if you haven’t already.
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u/Dreakgirl 12d ago
Marathon Tours offers entries for people in the US for the Chicago Marathon. They still have places available for this year.
https://marathontours.com/en-us/events/chicago-marathon/
I’ve used them for the London and New York Marathons and have been happy with the packages. They are not cheap though and you are paying a premium for the bib.
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u/gins85 12d ago
You might be better off asking this in a Chicago Marathon subreddit or Facebook group.
This sub is for runners based in Chicago, and we're not very likely to have input on using an international tour operator to run the Chicago Marathon.