Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2024: Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya breaks the women's world record in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon

CHICAGO (WLS) – 50,000 athletes took to the streets of the Windy City for the 46th Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

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“The world comes here to achieve personal bests, whether it be a world record or just obtaining a personal record,” said 2005 Chicago Marathon winner Deena Kastor.

READ MORE | Road closures along the marathon route at the Chicago Marathon are increasing for Sunday's 2024 race

Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya won the Chicago Marathon in 2:09:56, breaking the world record by almost two minutes.

The 30-year-old surpassed Ethiopian Tigist Assefa's record of 2:11:53 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.

Chepngetich was the first woman to break 2:10 minutes in the marathon. She also won the Chicago Marathon in 2021 and 2022 and took second place last year.

Runners from all 50 states and more than 100 countries descended on Chicago to put the city back on the international stage.

The course takes runners on a tour of the city, taking them through 29 different neighborhoods.

ABC7 Chicago caught up with Galen Rupp. He won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2017.

“One of the things I love about this marathon is that it highlights so many of Chicago’s diverse and great neighborhoods,” Rupp said. “The support you get from the audience along the way is just fantastic”

Chris Colon of Plainfield is a Bank of America employee and part-time firefighter. He led the course to raise support for local fire departments.

“As with everything: one small step, one food step forward. Put your health first. Do it for the right reasons. It’s okay to walk, it’s okay to stretch,” Colon said.

More than a million spectators lined the city streets to cheer on athletes in the 2024 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

SEE ALSO | Now in its 46th year, three runners continue to participate in each Chicago Marathon

Last year Kelvin Kiptum finished the marathon in 2:00:35 for a total pace of 2:52 minutes per kilometer

He broke the marathon world record. Unfortunately, Kiptum died in a car accident in Kenya in February.

Organizers observed a minute's silence for Kiptum before the race and gave the nearly 50,000 runners a commemorative sticker to stick on their race numbers.

SEE ALSO | Chicago Marathon charity runners raise money for the Northern Illinois Food Bank

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AP News contributed to this report.