Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya breaks woman's world record at Chicago Marathon 2024

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

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"The world comes here for personal bests, whether that be a world record or just getting your personal record," 2005 Chicago Marathon winner Deena Kastor said.

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Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya won the Chicago Marathon in 2:09:56 to break the world record by nearly two minutes.

The 30-year-old bested the record set by Tigist Assefa of Ethiopian in 2:11:53 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.

Chepngetich became the first woman to break 2:10 in the marathon. She also won the Chicago Marathon in 2021 and 2022 and finished runner-up last year.

Runners converged on Chicago from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to place the city on the international stage again.

The course leads runners on a tour of the city, weaving 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 the different and great neighborhoods in Chicago," Rupp said. "The support you receive from the crowd along the way is just fantastic"

Plainfield's Chris Colon is a Bank of America employee and part time firefighter. He ran the course to raise support for local firehouses.

"Like anything, one baby step, one food forward. Put your health first and foremost. Do it for the right reasons. It's okay to walk, it's okay to stretch," Colon said.

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

SEE ALSO | 3 runners continue to participate in every Chicago Marathon for 46th year

Electric vehicles led athletes in the 2024 Chicago Marathon on Sunday.

Last year, Kelvin Kiptum finished the marathon in 2:00:35 with an overall pace of 2:52 minutes per kilometer

He broke the marathon world record. Sadly, Kiptum was killed in a car crash in Kenya in February.

Organizers held a moment of silence for Kiptum before the race and offered the nearly 50,000 runners a memorial sticker to add to their bibs.

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

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AP News contributed to this report.