Thousands of runners descend on Windy City ahead of 2025 Chicago Marathon

CHICAGO (WLS) -- With less than a day until the start of the 47th Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, runners from near and far took over the Windy City.

McCormick Place once again hosted the Health and Fitness Expo on Saturday.

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"Feeling great," Chicago runner Miles Mulder said. "I've been training hard with Second City Track Club here. Super excited to get it done. First one."

Athletes had the chance to snap some pre-race picks check out running gear and even write an encouraging note to themselves and others ahead of the 26.2 mile trot through Chicago.

"I'm feeling prepared," Indianapolis runner Emily Stochel said. "I've struggled with a little bit of an injury the last two weeks, so fingers crossed I get to the finish line."

Indianapolis' Stochel and Annette Fearnot are lacing up for their first Bank of America Chicago Marathon. They've both run marathons before and say the the friendships made along the way keep them moving.

"Honestly I really enjoy the friendships," Fearnot said. "Through running we have just met people all over the country and it keeps us going. We have people coming today to watch us from Atlanta and Texas."

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Some 53,000 runners will take on the scenic endurance run of Chicago, exploring 29 of the city's neighborhoods. They are coming from every state and more than 100 countries.

Salt Lake City's Jacob Archate is trying to break a Guinness World Record.

"For running the fastest marathon in a male astronaut suit," Archate said.

He's running in a space suit, which requires a little more training. He says he's doing it to bring attention to issues affecting everyone around the world.

"That's why I'm running in this suit. We don't need to go to space to solve real out of this world problems," Archate said. "It's a lot of training uphill and and in the mountains. I trained a lot in a full on Nike dry suit."

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Regardless of the reason, the courageous athletes are mentally preparing to take Sunday's race in stride.