Chicago Marathon charity spots

The 2027 Bank of America Chicago Marathon is on October 10, 2027. Non-guaranteed entries are handed out by drawing, and applicants are notified of their status by email on Tuesday, December 8, 2026. The event says plainly that people who apply but are not drawn can still register by running for an official charity or with a tour operator.

Chicago has the clearest rules of the majors. The race sets a floor: every charity runner must raise no less than $2,500 for 2027, and each charity can ask for more. Charity entries are first come, first served until Friday, September 10, 2027, or until a charity's places are gone, whichever comes first. There are more than 200 charities in the program, and you contact them directly through the Charity Index on the official site. International runners can also go through realbuzz, which lists overseas charities with Chicago places.

Charity entries cost a little more. The 2027 entry fee is $325 for US residents and $335 for non-US residents on the charity route, against $250 and $260 for everyone else, with the difference going to the Charity Program. Your fundraising is on top of that fee.

Each charity sets its own deadlines. Save the Boundary Waters, for example, takes 2027 applications until January 31, 2027 and wants all fundraising done by October 30, 2027, and Openlands notes that the minimums set by the marathon cannot be lowered for any reason. Other guaranteed routes include time qualifiers and legacy finishers, but those applications closed on October 29, 2026.