Info

The Chicago River Marathon and Half-Marathon is a regatta that will challenge the toughest of rowers who seek an adventurous row that rivals the average head race.

The Full Marathon will start and end in the Bridgeport neighborhood and extend north to the Albany Park neighborhood before heading back straight south to finish near the start. The course covers the dynamic range of Chicago’s neighborhoods, surveying the changing landscape from industrial to natural prairie land. Rowers will race through Chicago’s famed downtown and will pass architecturally significant buildings like the Willis Tower, Civic Opera House, Merchandise Mart, The Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, and Aqua Tower. The course will also lead rowers past the sites of Chicago’s four city boathouses. Perhaps most remarkably, the course runs under or past every single one of the city’s historic moveable bridges, of which Chicago has the most of any city in the world!

The Half-Marathon course also starts in Bridgeport, but does not pass north of Kinzie St. Rowers will still race through downtown, passing the same architectural landmarks as the Full Marathon, but will then proceed southward rather than northward.

Boat Rental Requests

Registration Information

8+s and 4+s may register online via regatta central to participate in the Chicago River Marathon and Half Marathon. 

4x, 2x, and 1x must first apply by completing the Chicago River Marathon & Half Marathon Blind Boat Applicaiton Form. Applications will be approved on a first come, first serve basis each week, beginning in July. The Regatta Committee uses the application to determine the amount of time the blind boat has spent together, both racing and training, and what kind of experience the crew, or competitor, has doing this kind of distance. 

Youth (U19) may only enter coxed events (4x+,4+ and 8+)

Please direct all inquiries to [email protected].