by Larry Eder
Carey Pinkowski is the Executive Race Director for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. He has had this job for over three decades. A fine high school runner and then a Villanova runner, Carey ran a 2:22 marathon at his best.
Under Carey’s leadership, the Chicago Marathon has evolved into one of the world’s premier marathons, a testament to his strategic vision and team management.
Each year, this writer goes to the Chicago Marathon (missing two since 1990) and enjoys Carey Pinkowski’s comments, pre-race and post-race. Carey loves building the field with his team and preparing the event for the 45-50,000 runners and walkers.
The 2024 Bank of America is in its 46th year.
A story: Way back in the 1990s, I was coming back from the Chicago Marathon sponsor party. Jeremy Solomon, one of the owners of the Chicago Athlete magazine with Eliot Wineberg at the time, was driving along the course about 1 AM, and we saw Carey Pinkowski checking the course. That was and is Carey Pinkowski, known to sleep little on the last couple of days before his race.
We sincerely thank Carey Pinkowski and Alex Sawyer for their invaluable assistance in providing insights into the Chicago Marathon.
RunBlogRun, #1, What are you looking forward to in the 2024 Bank of America Chicago marathon?
Carey Pinkowski: I’m looking forward to great weather, great racing up front, and a record number of event finishers.
Bank of America Chicago Marathon
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RunBlogRun, #2, What has been your favorite year in elite competition at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon?
Carey Pinkowski: It’s got to be 2023. We had Kelvin Kiptum’s world record, Sifan Hassan’s event record, Marcel Hug’s event record, and Catherine Debrunner’s event record. It was a special day to have records set across every professional division of the race in one year.
RunBlogRun, #3, What was your favorite rivalry?
Carey Pinkowski: 2010, Sammy Wanjiru and Tsegaye Kebede. That may have been the greatest head-to-head marathon in challenging conditions. Other rivalries that stand out for me were the 1990 race between Martin Pitayo and Antoni Niemczak and the 1985 race between Joan Benoit Samuelson and Ingrid Kristiansen.
RunBlogRun, #4, What record surprised you the most at the Bank of America Chicago marathon?
Carey Pinkowski: Khalid Khannouchi’s world record in 1999. We weren’t expecting it. The world record was 2:06:05, and he ran 2:05:42. I knew how great Kelvin was, but Khalid’s record was a surprise.
RunBlogRun, #5, Were you surprised by Sifan Hassan at the Paris Olympics?
No. She’s such a competitor. I felt she was going to win after the 10K mark. If they didn’t shake her by then, I knew she was going to win.
How do you shut down after the marathon? Do you take a real vacation?
We’re still swamped for a few weeks afterward. I don’t take a vacation, but I spend a few days at home and turn everything off.
To learn more about Carey Pinkowski and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, please check out the following:
