The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon represented a great opportunity for Chicago 2016 to send a message to athletes at all levels, from Chicago and around the world. We interviewed many of the 27 Olympians who ran, to see what they thought about Chicago as a potential Olympic Host City. At the Expo we had a centrally located booth where we ran our Chicago 2016 video and handed out postcards announcing the new website. Over 100,000 people attended the Expo.
Chicago 2016 presence was also felt from the start to the finish of the Marathon. As the race began, all 40,000 runners could see our large (60ft by 10ft) banner which proclaimed, “You Inspire Us”. It was the perfect message to let the athletes at all levels know that they are heroes. Chicago 2016 cheering sections at Mile 11 and Mile 26 let the runners know we were there to offer support. In total we registered over 465,000 impressions at the event – over twice our target objective.
Chicago 2016 also had a global press presence with coverage on Eurosport and Japan’s leading TV network, Nippon.
Several runners showed their support of Chicago 2016 by sporting singlets with our logo on it. These included 2016 Committee member Gordon Kane, who qualified for the Boston Marathon, and Ron Huberman, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, running his first marathon. Congratulations to them, all the runners, and the Chicago crowds who cheered along the race route.
Photo #2: Inspiring runners at the start of the Marathon
© 2006, Chicago 2016