A Fueling Plan Built Specifically for the Chicago Marathon

Every aid station on the course, what it serves, and the exact minute you reach it based on your goal time. Then a fueling plan built on this exact course, so every gel is placed where there is water to wash it down and you never hit the wall in the last 6 miles.

Build my Chicago plan Start with the course ↓
Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Sunday 11 October 2026 · 26.2 miles
Water + Gatorade Endurance 20 Gel depot miles 12.4 and 18.1
Map of the Chicago Marathon course with the 20 aid tables marked
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Elevation profile drag along the profile to scrub
26.2 miles ▲ 19 ft gain ▼ 24 ft loss 0 ft high -14 ft low
0 mi 5 10 15 20 26.2 mi 0 ft 0 mi 10 20 26.2 mi 0 ft

Aid tables from the official Chicago participant guide, checked 12 Sep 2026. Chicago publishes miles; kilometres are converted. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Why the course changes the plan

Why you need to adapt your fueling plan to the specifics of the course

Most fueling plans are generic: take a gel every 30 minutes, wash it down with water and drink your carb beverage in between.

But, what if your planned time to take a gel comes right in the middle of a hill? What if there’s no aid station close by to grab water from?

Often, where each gel goes on the course matters as much as how many you take

It’s these small, often ignored parts of executing a fueling plan that trip runners up and have them hitting the wall or slowing down because of an upset stomach, despite having a well-rehearsed fueling plan heading into the race.

4

things go wrong when you don’t account for the course in your fueling plan

1A planned gel with no water

You plan a gel at 60 minutes, but the next water station isn’t for another 15. That means you either have to wait, take it without water and have it sit, or take it with your carb beverage and take in too much sugar for your stomach to process.

2You miss a table

Chicago had more than 54,000 finishers last year, the biggest field it has ever had. Tables that busy are easy to misjudge and not get the fuel you need. Without a plan for the next one you either double up later and pay for it, or run the rest of the race short.

3Your plan calls for a gel in the middle of a hill

As intensity increases, your stomach’s ability to process carbohydrates slows down. Couple that with breathing harder up a hill and you’ve got the perfect storm for a gel that can’t be digested fast enough.

4Miscalculating the fluid on the course

The distance between aid stations, the concentration of the carbohydrate drink, and how much you’re actually able to swallow all change how much glycogen you’re actually replacing every hour. Your plan calls for 60 g per hour, but if you only hit 40 g you’ll run out of glycogen before you finish.

So your fueling plan needs to start with one question, and everything after it follows.

Option 1

I am going to use what is on the course

Water at 20 tables, Gatorade at all of them, gels at miles 12.4 and 18.1.

What that adds up to, and what you still carry.

Fuel off the course ↓
Option 2

I am going to carry all of my own fuel

Your products, your timing, nothing riding on a cup you might miss.

What the course still decides for you.

Fuel from your own kit ↓
Option 1

If you are going to use what the course hands you

Chicago is a good course to do this on. Water and Gatorade Endurance come at all 20 tables. Below is where you’ll find each station.

Chicago Marathon course strip Elevation relative to the start across 26.2 miles, the 20 aid tables marked by mile with what is at each, and the 12 feeds of the reference plan as numbered dots. 0 ft -14 ft 1.6 3.2 5 5.8 7.3 8.8 10.1 11.5 12.4 13.6 14.6 15.7 16.9 18.1 19 20.2 22.3 23 24.5 25.2 mi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Water + Gatorade Endurance Gel depot Feed in the 3:45 plan, on a table Feed with no table, water carried

Elevation is stretched to emphasis location. The numbered dots are your recommended fueling options for your 3:45 goal.

Source: the official Bank of America Chicago Marathon, checked 12 Sep 2026

1What is on the course

What is provided at Chicago, and where

Water is provided at all 20 tables, from mile 1.6 to mile 25.2, with a Culligan refill station just before the tables at miles 5.7, 10.1, 15.7 and 20.3, where you fill your own bottle.

Gatorade Endurance at every table, so there is carbohydrate in the cup each time you drink. Gels at miles 12.4 and 18.1, Maurten Gel 100, caffeinated or plain, your choice at the depot. Chicago asks you to take only one gel per depot so the runners behind you get one. Bananas at the last three tables before the finish, miles 20.2, 22.3 and 23.

The course climbs 19 ft in total and its steepest grade is 0.6%, so no hill is long enough to move a feed. That is why CarbRate places yours by the water tables instead.

The Chicago course, table by table
Water stations
20

every table, mile 1.6 to mile 25.2

Gatorade Endurance
20

every table from mile 1.6 to mile 25.2

Maurten Gel 100
2

miles 12.4 and 18.1, water at both, supply not guaranteed

2Your goal time

Every table, and the minute you reach it

Put your goal time in and when you arrive at every aid station on the course recalculates. This is the list to put in your pocket, and the one CarbRate builds your feeds on.

Arrival times assume even pace, which holds on a course this flat. At 3:45 you reach the first gel station at 1:46.
Build my Chicago plan
All 20 tables at 3:45
mikmTableWhat’s at the tableYou arrive
1.62.61 — State St, Randolph to MadisonwaterGatorade Endurance0:14
3.25.22 — LaSalle St, Ohio to HuronwaterGatorade Endurance0:28
58.13 — Stockton Dr north of LaSallewaterGatorade Endurance0:43
5.89.34 — Cannon Dr north of FullertonwaterGatorade Endurance0:49
7.311.75 — Inner Lake Shore Dr, Cornelia to AddisonwaterGatorade Endurance1:03
8.814.26 — Broadway, Aldine to BelmontwaterGatorade Endurance1:16
10.116.37 — Clark St, Belden to WebsterwaterGatorade Endurance1:27
11.518.58 — Wells St, North Ave to BurtonwaterGatorade Endurance1:39
12.420.09 — Wells St, Grand to Hubbard — Maurten depotwaterGatorade EnduranceMaurten Gel 1001:46
13.621.910 — Adams St, Canal to JeffersonwaterGatorade Endurance1:57
14.623.511 — Adams St, Racine to ThroopwaterGatorade Endurance2:05
15.725.312 — Jackson Blvd, Damen to OgdenwaterGatorade Endurance2:15
16.927.213 — Jackson Blvd, Sangamon to GreenwaterGatorade Endurance2:25
18.129.114 — Taylor St, Racine to Loomis — Maurten depotwaterGatorade EnduranceMaurten Gel 1002:35
1930.615 — Loomis St, 14th to 15thwaterGatorade Endurance2:43
20.232.516 — Canalport Ave, Halsted to CermakwaterGatorade Endurance2:53
22.335.917 — Michigan Ave, 26th to 28thwaterGatorade Endurance3:11
2337.118 — Michigan Ave, 33rd to 35thwaterGatorade Endurance3:18
24.539.419 — Michigan Ave, 26th to 25thwaterGatorade Endurance3:30
25.240.620 — Michigan Ave, 18th to 16thwaterGatorade Endurance3:36
3The course drink

How much glycogen does the Gatorade on the course provide

Gatorade Endurance is 6.2 g of carbohydrate per 100 mL. A typical cup contains about 200 mL.

But, you likely won’t actually drink that much. Volunteers typically fill cups about half way to prevent water from splashing and you’ll lose a good amount as you run with the cup and what spills as you drink.

On average, you can expect a net intake of about 60 to 90 mL per cup

This is the part most runners don’t account for in their fueling plan, so CarbRate builds it directly in your plan.

We’ll tell you exactly how many cups at each aid station to drink based on how much glycogen you need and how much you’ll be able to supplement with gels.

What the drink is worth per hour
Glycogen left
200 → 60–90 mL

A cup holds about 200 mL. Half-filled, spilled and sipped on the run, 60 to 90 mL of it actually goes down.

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you run out here Planned full cups Real 60–90 mL a cup full empty start finish
Glycogen left across the race, a plan built on full cups against what a cup actually delivers. Illustrative, not your plan.
4What you carry

How many gels you still carry

After you’ve calculated how much of the course drink you’ll likely take at each aid station, you’ll need to fill in your glycogen needs with gels along the course.

A typical gel contains about 25 g of carbohydrate, so use the chart here to calculate how many you’ll need.

If you’ve practiced fueling in training, you can target 75 to 90 g per hour. If you haven’t trained your stomach, err closer to 60 g per hour.

Here’s more on how to practice your fueling schedule to maximize your gut tolerance.

25 g gels to carry, after the course
Finish60 g/h75 g/h90 g/h
3:45 your goal
3:002to24to46to6
3:303to35to57to7
4:003to46to78to9
4:304to66to89to11
5:004to77to1010to13
5The products

The 2 products Chicago hands you

The gel is Maurten, and you pick caffeinated or plain at the depot, and the drink is Gatorade Endurance, which carries real sodium. Practise with both before race day so mile 12.4 is not the first time your stomach meets them.

If Maurten does not sit well with you, the closest matches are Precision Fuel PF 30 Gel, SiS Beta Fuel Gel and Maurten Gel 160. Pick one before race week and train on it.

On the Chicago course
Sodium
20 mg
Caffeine
0 mg (CAF 100: 100 mg)
Glucose : fructose
about 1.25 : 1
Science score100/100
Full write-up, who it suits →
Sodium
310 mg / 12 oz
Caffeine
0 mg
Glucose : fructose
sucrose and dextrose

Get a Fueling Plan Built for Chicago

CarbRate builds you a personalized race fueling plan from your own sweat rate, how your stomach handles gels, and then it coaches you through every feed, live, while you run.

It also customizes every gel and every drink placement to align with the actual elevation profile and aid station on your course.

Build my Chicago plan
Option 2

If you are going to carry all of your own fuel

Even carrying your own fuel, the Chicago course influences 4 things about your fueling plan: the timing of your gels, fluid intake, electrolytes, and caffeine.

1Timing

Set your feed times to Chicago’s tables, unless you carry water

The common advice is to take your gels every 30 to 45 minutes, but that might not coincide with when you hit an aid station.

If you’re not carrying your own water with you, you’ll need those aid stations to wash down your gel.

For a 3:45 finisher, Chicago’s tables arrive 14, 28, 43, 49 and 63 minutes in, then every 6 to 18 minutes.

So, you need to factor this into your fueling plan.

Enter your goal time in the input box below and we’ll show you when each aid station will arrive for your given pace.

If you want a fueling plan with all of these built in, CarbRate does this for you. Start building your plan here.

Feed times assume even pace, which holds on a course this flat. Everything below recalculates from 3:45.
Your watch against Chicago’s tables
Gel alarms with water
1 of 11 alarms

For a 3:45 finisher, 1 of 11 twenty-minute alarms land within 2 minutes of a table. Highlighted tables take a gel in a 75 g an hour plan; the first goes down before mile 1.6 from a bottle you carry.

Gel alarm every 20 min Chicago tables, 3:45 pace 1.6 3.2 5.8 7.3 10.1 12.4 14.6 16.9 19 20.2 23 25.2 start 1:00 2:00 3:00 finish
alarm within 2 min of wateralarm with no watertable taking a geltable not taking a gel
How many 25 g gels that is, carrying everything
Finish60 g/h75 g/h90 g/h
3:45 your goal91214
3:008911
3:3091113
4:00101215
4:30111417
5:00121518
2Water

A gel needs more water than a cup holds

Research has shown that the optimal carbohydrate concentration is 6 to 8 percent carbohydrate to water.

That means you’ll want about 100 mL (3.5 oz) of water for every 8 grams of carbohydrate you take in. A typical gel contains 25 g of carbohydrate, so you’ll want to aim for about 300 mL (10 oz) of water with each gel.

A good estimate is that each cup of water will provide you 100 mL (3.5 oz) of water. That’s because volunteers typically fill cups about half way to prevent water from splashing and you’ll lose a good amount as you run with the cup and what spills as you drink.

So, if you’re not carrying your own water, have your gel open and prepared to take at the start of the aid station so you can take it early with a cup of water and still have time to grab another cup or two.

What a gel needs and what a cup delivers
One 25 g gel needs
300 mL
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cupsempties fast, no sloshing8%concentration300 mL+2 cupsstill too thick to empty13%concentration200 mL+1 cupsits in your stomach25%concentration100 mL
3Sodium

The course drink covers your sodium, if you drink it

Gatorade Endurance carries about 870 mg of sodium per litre (210 mg per 8 oz) as the maker mixes it, and it is at every table.

Aim for 600 mg of sodium per litre (150 mg per 8 oz) of what you drink. So, if you drink the course drink at the tables, you’re covered without adding anything to your gels.

If you’re carrying your own water instead, that sodium has to come from your gel or your bottle. If it’s a hot day or you’re a salty sweater, you should aim for a bit more.

CarbRate can provide your exact amount based on your individual sweat rate and can help you adjust your fueling plan if the weather is hot.

Where the sodium is
Sodium per litre you drink
600 mg / L

Gatorade Endurance at the tables is above the target on its own. Carry water instead and the sodium in your race is whatever your gel or your own drink carries.

NaChicago’s tables870 mg / LNaAim for600 mg / LNaHot day, salty sweater800–1,000
the target for what you drinkthe hotter, saltier end, where CarbRate sets yours from your sweat rate
4Caffeine

Time your caffeine so it helps you when you need it the most

If you plan to use caffeine, it’s best to time it so the benefits kick in when you need them the most.

Caffeine peaks in your blood about an hour after you swallow it, then it slowly falls.

In that analysis of 4.2 million marathon results, the runners who slowed sharply began to do so just before mile 18.6 (30 km).

With a goal finish time of 3:45 that would place your caffeine at mile 15.7 (25 km).

This should provide you with peak benefits from the caffeine right when you need it the most.

When the caffeine is working
Caffeine table, flat course
mile 15.7
2 hours 15 minutes into a 3:45

Blood caffeine peaks about an hour after the dose, so a mile 15.7 gel peaks near mile 23 for a 3:45 finisher, after the wall has started. In 4.2 million marathon results, the late slowdown began near mile 18.6.

the wall starts mile 18.6 avg, 4.2 M results dose at the start mile 15.7 table · 2:15 peak ≈ mile 23 0 mi 5 10 15 20 26.2 mi peaknone
dose at the mile 15.7 tabledose at the startwhere the wall starts on averagecurve shape illustrative, timings from your goal time

Get a Fueling Plan Built for Chicago

CarbRate builds you a personalized race fueling plan from your own sweat rate, how your stomach handles gels, and then it coaches you through every feed, live, while you run.

It also customizes every gel and every drink placement to align with the actual elevation profile and aid station on your course.

Build my Chicago plan
Built for your exact course

What a finished Chicago plan looks like

This is a real CarbRate plan rather than an example we wrote out: a 68 kg runner, 3:45 goal, trained stomach, drinking the Gatorade and taking the course gel, 14 °C at the start. Adjusted finish 3:48. Target 81 g an hour, 307 g in total, as 12 feeds of 25 g.

12 of the 12 feeds land on a real Chicago aid table, so there is water in your hand for every one of them.

#ClockmiWhereWhat
10:131.51 — State St, Randolph to Madison · mile 1.6One 25 g gel, your own
20:283.32 — LaSalle St, Ohio to Huron · mile 3.2One 25 g gel, your own
30:495.64 — Cannon Dr north of Fullerton · mile 5.8One 25 g gel, your own
41:047.45 — Inner Lake Shore Dr, Cornelia to Addison · mile 7.3One 25 g gel, your own
51:2710.07 — Clark St, Belden to Webster · mile 10.1One 25 g gel, your own
61:4712.39 — Wells St, Grand to Hubbard — Maurten depot · mile 12.4Maurten Gel 100 from the depot
72:0614.511 — Adams St, Racine to Throop · mile 14.6One 25 g gel, your own
82:2616.813 — Jackson Blvd, Sangamon to Green · mile 16.9One 25 g gel, your own
92:4418.915 — Loomis St, 14th to 15th · mile 19One 25 g gel, your own
102:5620.316 — Canalport Ave, Halsted to Cermak · mile 20.2One 25 g gel, your own
113:1922.918 — Michigan Ave, 33rd to 35th · mile 23One 25 g gel, your own
123:3825.120 — Michigan Ave, 18th to 16th · mile 25.2One 25 g gel, your own

The first feed comes before the first table on purpose: CarbRate starts you early, with the water you carry from the start line. Say you are carrying your own instead and it rebuilds this same timeline with your products and more feeds, on the same tables. On race day the app calls each feed by voice as you reach it.

This is one runner. Yours will look different.

CarbRate builds yours from your weight, your sweat rate, your goal time, the gels you already train with, and the race-day forecast. Answer a few quick questions and it is built, with the Chicago course already loaded.

Build my Chicago plan
What CarbRate says about Chicago

What CarbRate flags on a Chicago plan

These are the warnings CarbRate attaches to a Chicago plan, word for word, for the 3:45 runner above.

Plan to carry

Chicago hands out Maurten Gel 100 at 2 points. You need about 12 feeds, so that covers roughly 16% of your carbohydrate. Take them if you want them, and carry the other 10.

In your favour

Chicago has Gatorade Endurance Formula (lemon-lime) at 6.2 g per 100 ml, which is strong. Drinking 500 ml an hour covers about 31 g/h of your 81 g/h target, and your plan has already taken that off your gels.

Quiet on purpose

The first table is at mile 1.6. CarbRate allows 45 minutes for the opening stretch instead of the usual 27, because you start hydrated and fed. So Chicago’s first 1.6 miles never trigger a warning.

Sodium: on the course

Gatorade Endurance carries about 870 mg of sodium per litre as mixed, above the 600 mg per litre target. The race does not publish its own dilution, so that figure is the maker’s standard mix.

Drink it at the tables and your sodium is covered. Carry your own water instead and CarbRate works out how much you need from your sweat rate and the forecast, and puts it on the same schedule as your gels.

Shows inside 10 days
29 days to go

From 1 October the start-line forecast appears here, with what it changes in your plan. On a warm day: more fluid and more sodium.

The short answers

Chicago Marathon fueling at a glance

Every fact on this page in one block, for the runner who wants the answer and nothing else.

Race
Bank of America Chicago Marathon, 11 October 2026
Distance
42.195 km / 26.2 mi
Aid tables on the course
20
First table
mile 1.6 (km 2.6)
Spacing after the first table
every 0.7 to 2.1 miles
Water
at every table, plus a self-serve refill point before four of them
Sports drink
Gatorade Endurance Formula (lemon-lime), at every table
Drink strength
6.2 g carbohydrate per 100 ml
Gel handout
Maurten Gel 100, mile 12.4 (km 20) and mile 18.1 (km 29.1), 2 points
Food on course
none published
Personal refreshment
not accepted for the mass field
Published sodium
870 mg per litre in the course drink, maker’s mix
Total climb
19 ft, steepest grade 0.9%
Typical carbohydrate target
60 to 90 g an hour
Gels to carry, 3:45 at 75 g/h
5 to 6 using the course drink, 12 carrying everything

Chicago fueling questions, answered

Is there Gatorade on the Chicago Marathon course?

Yes. Gatorade Endurance Formula (lemon-lime) is at every table, mile 1.6 to mile 25.2, alongside water. Maurten Gel 100 is handed out at miles 12.4 and 18.1.

Where are the gel stations at the Chicago Marathon?

Miles 12.4 and 18.1, which is km 20 and km 29.1. There is water at each of them. Chicago asks you to take only one gel per depot so the runners behind you get one. Plan to carry the rest of your own.

How many gels do I need for the Chicago Marathon?

It depends on your carbohydrate target and how much of the course drink you take. At 75 g an hour a 3:45 finish needs about 280 g. Drinking one cup of Gatorade at every other table covers roughly 90 g of that, which leaves about 8 gels of 25 g, 2 of them handed out on the course, so carry 6. Drinking half a litre of Gatorade an hour, carry 5. The grid above works this out for any finish time.

Is the Chicago Marathon flat?

Yes. Our course profile shows 19 ft of climbing across 26.2 miles, a net change of -5 ft, and a steepest grade of 0.9%. Nothing on the course changes where a feed should land, so even pacing and even fueling are both fair.

Does Chicago have electrolytes or sodium on the course?

Yes. Gatorade Endurance carries about 870 mg of sodium per litre as the maker mixes it, which is above the 600 mg per litre target. The race does not publish its own dilution. If you carry your own water instead, bring your own sodium plan.

Is there food on the Chicago Marathon course?

Chicago publishes none. The tables carry water and Gatorade Endurance and nothing else.

How far apart are the water stations at Chicago?

The first table is at mile 1.6. After that they come every 0.7 to 2.1 miles. The longest gap after the start is mile 20.2 to mile 22.3, about 3.4 km, which is 19 minutes at 4:00 pace and 24 minutes at 5:00 pace.

When will I reach the gel station at mile 12.4?

At even pace: 1:39 into a 3:30 race, 1:46 into a 3:45, 1:54 into a 4:00, and 2:22 into a 5:00. Enter your own goal time in the station table above to see every table.

Where are the aid stations at the Chicago Marathon?

There are 20, at miles 1.6, 3.2, 5, 5.8, 7.3, 8.8, 10.1, 11.5, 12.4, 13.6, 14.6, 15.7, 16.9, 18.1, 19, 20.2, 22.3, 23, 24.5 and 25.2. All 20 have water. Every one of them also has Gatorade Endurance Formula (lemon-lime).

Can I carry all of my own fuel at the Chicago Marathon?

Yes. Chicago does not take personal bottles from the mass field, so everything you carry starts on you at the gun, with a refill point at every table to top a flask from. Carrying everything at 75 g an hour is 12 gels of 25 g for a 3:45 finish, or 10 if you take the course gels.

How much carbohydrate should I take during the Chicago Marathon?

60 to 90 grams an hour, set by your body size and by how much your stomach has practised absorbing. Start at the rate you have already trained at rather than the rate you want: 90 g an hour is a target to build toward over a training cycle before you race on it.

Do I need to carry water at the Chicago Marathon?

Only for the opening 1.6 miles. The first table is at mile 1.6, about 14 minutes into a 3:45 race, and after that tables come every 0.7 to 2.1 miles. If your first feed comes before mile 1.6, carry the fluid for it from the start line.

What should I eat before the Chicago Marathon?

1 to 4 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight in the 1 to 4 hours before the start, from food you have already eaten before long runs. A 68 kg runner eating 3 hours before the start needs roughly 130 to 200 g of carbohydrate. Chicago sets off in waves, so work backwards from your own wave time rather than from the elite start.

Your Chicago plan

Build your Chicago plan with the course already loaded

The tables, the Gatorade and the course profile above are already in. Add your weight, goal time, sweat rate and the gels you like, and CarbRate builds your feed-by-feed plan for Chicago, then calls each feed by voice on race day.

Build my Chicago plan

The plan is free. Live race-day guidance and the practice schedule are in the app, $9.95 a month or a one-time $49.95 Race Pass that expires after your race.

Fueling guides for the other courses

Chicago, 11 Oct 2026
Free plan, course loadedBuild my Chicago plan