That spike in runners along the Lakefront Trail that is guilting you during every morning commute can mean only one thing: The 36th annual Chicago Marathon is fast approaching. Here’s what you need to know before the participants pound the pavement for 26.2 miles on October 13.
 

• 45,000 registered participants

• 2:04:38 course record
  Tsegaye Kebede (pictured above), 2012

• 1.7 million estimated spectators

• 138 countries represented

• 10,212 international runners

• 77,760 gallons of water and 1.1 million Gatorade cups

• 1,500 portable toilets

• 29 official Chicago neighborhoods on the course
   

Security changes for this year: Runners must pick up their own bib packets; no one may pick up a bib packet on behalf of a runner. Only transparent event-issued bags allowed in Grant Park and accepted at the gear check.