How Many Weeks Until the Chicago Marathon? Fall 2026 Countdown for Six US Marathons

This week at a glance

• Twin Cities is 6 days away on Monday, Sept. 28. Sunday, Oct. 4 is race day, with the gun at 8 a.m. CT in Minneapolis — no long run this weekend.
• Chicago is 13 days out, so Sunday, Oct. 4 sits exactly one week before the 7:35 a.m. CT Wave 1 start. Oct. 3–4 is a shakeout weekend. Marine Corps (27 days) gets its last long run before the taper.
• The humidity crept back on the East Coast. Dew points in Washington, New York and Philadelphia read 52–57°F this weekend, up from 50–51°F last week. Minneapolis goes the other way: 49°F over a 44°F dew point Saturday.

Quick answer — As of Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, Twin Cities (Oct. 4) is 6 days away, Chicago (Oct. 11) is 13, Marine Corps (Oct. 25) is 27, New York (Nov. 1) is 34, Philadelphia (Nov. 22) is 55 and CIM (Dec. 6) is 69. Twin Cities runners race this Sunday, Chicago runners do a short shakeout a week out, Marine Corps runners get the last long run before the taper, and New York runners are still in the peak block — under dew points back in the 50s on the East Coast.

This countdown moves every Monday; earlier weeks sit in our training section. Dates and start times come from each event's own site, forecasts from National Weather Service hourly gridpoint data pulled at 7:52 a.m. ET today, sunrise times from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

How many weeks until each fall marathon?

The phase column assumes a 16- to 18-week plan with a three-week taper. A coach who built you something else outranks a table on the internet.

Is Chicago's taper starting this weekend?

It started last weekend. Sunday, Oct. 4 falls exactly seven days before Chicago's 7:35 a.m. CT Wave 1 start, and one week out is where nearly every plan cuts the long run again — often to 8 to 10 easy miles. If your peak 20-miler was two weeks ago, the work is banked. Nothing you run before Oct. 11 makes you fitter. Plenty of things could make you slower.

Spend the spare energy on logistics. Chicago's timeline opens Grant Park, gear check and the corrals at 5:30 a.m.; Wave 1 corrals close at 7:20, Wave 2 at 7:45, Wave 3 at 8:10. The pros go at 7:30, Wave 1 at 7:35, Wave 2 at 8:00 and Wave 3 at 8:35 a.m. People misjudge that last one — a Wave 3 runner waits three hours before running a step. Practice eating on that clock this weekend. The Abbott Chicago 5K goes Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 a.m., and the McCormick Place expo opens Thursday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m.

How much has the humidity dropped since last week?

This week it mostly hasn't, outside Minneapolis. Seven days ago Chicago's Saturday morning read 58°F over a 52°F dew point. This Saturday reads 57°F over a 50°F dew point, with a 17% chance of showers. Washington climbs from 50°F to 56°F on the dew point, Philadelphia from 51°F to 53°F and New York from 50°F to 52°F. Minneapolis is the one real drop, from 56°F to 44°F.

Below roughly 55°F on the dew point sweat evaporates, so your cooling works and pace at a given heart rate holds. Washington's 56°F sits just over that line. If a Marine Corps long run there feels slower than last weekend's at the same effort, that is the weather, not lost fitness.

What is the long-run forecast in each race city?

Minneapolis gets the best morning on the board: Saturday at 49°F over a 44°F dew point, a 5 mph breeze, a 9% chance of rain. Race morning Sunday runs a little warmer and damper at 51°F over 48°F. Chicago barely changes between the two days, 57°F with a slight chance of showers either way. The East Coast is warmer and damper than last week but calm, with 5-to-8 mph winds, and Sunday carries a 22% to 29% chance of showers in New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Sacramento stays dry but climbs 13 degrees between 7 and 10 a.m. both days. Friday's hour-by-hour reads land on our daily running weather page.

What should you wear for a 55°F start with a 15 mph wind?

This week's forecast is calmer than that: 7 a.m. starts run from 49°F in Minneapolis to 62°F in Washington, and no city on the board tops 8 mph of wind. Dress for mile three, not the parking lot. At 55°F over a 50°F dew point you are warm within a mile, so shorts and a short-sleeve tech tee cover most runners. Wind was last weekend's variable: a 15-to-20 mph northerly on a damp shirt pulls heat fast, especially on an out-and-back where you turn into it at halfway. For Saturday's 49°F in Minneapolis, thin gloves and a throwaway long sleeve handle the first 20 minutes.

Our kit-by-temperature chart puts 45–55°F in shorts, a long sleeve and light gloves, and 55–65°F in shorts and a short sleeve. This weekend straddles that line, which is when a packable vest earns its place. Shopping for tights before October? The inseam-by-height chart at leggingsizeguide.com will save you a return. Settle your shoes now, not in race week — our rotation guide covers which pair belongs in a taper run.

Twin Cities is one week out — what happens now?

As of this Monday it is six days out: Sunday, Oct. 4 is race day, with the gun at 8:00 a.m. CT. The week-out shakeout was last weekend, so what remains is short easy running with a few strides and plenty of sleep. At 8 a.m. Sunday the Minneapolis grid reads 52°F over a 48°F dew point, a 5 mph southwest breeze and a 13% chance of rain.

The race is sold out; its event page lists Gold or Silver TCM membership and charity teams as the only ways in. Course maps for the Minneapolis start and St. Paul finish are posted, and our Twin Cities course and weather preview walks the point-to-point route. Race in the shoes and shorts you tested on long runs. Nothing new goes on your body before Sunday.

Is it still light enough to start a long run at 6 a.m.?

Not anymore, in any of these six cities. On Sunday, Oct. 4, the Naval Observatory puts sunrise at 6:51 a.m. in Chicago, 6:56 in New York, 7:00 in Philadelphia, 7:05 in Sacramento, 7:07 in Washington and 7:15 in Minneapolis. Civil twilight — the usable half-light before the sun clears the horizon — starts roughly 28 minutes earlier in each. A 6 a.m. start in Minneapolis now means 46 minutes in the dark.

That gap widens by roughly a minute a day through October, and it stops being a curiosity once you are on a road shoulder. A light, a rear blinker and reflective material on your moving parts beat a bright shirt; our visibility gear guide covers what drivers pick up at 200 feet.

Can you still get into any of these races?

Fewer than last week, going by their own pages. Twin Cities shows sold out. New York shows online registration closed for what will be the 50th anniversary running of the five-borough course, with staggered waves between 9:40 and 11:00 a.m. — worth rehearsing now, since 9:40 is three hours later than most training runs. Philadelphia joined them this week: its site now lists the marathon, the half and all the challenges as sold out and points to charity partners for guaranteed entry. Its half-marathon kick-off training run was set for last Saturday, Sept. 26, from the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, with 3, 6, 8, 10 and 14-mile options finishing on Kelly Drive at Lloyd Hall. Our Philadelphia forecast point is those same steps, and 7 a.m. this Saturday there reads 60°F, a 5 mph north wind, 15% showers. The long sleeve can stay home.

Chasing a shorter race first? Quad Cities and Akron show how mid-September entry windows close, and the weekend race list carries start times as they are confirmed. First-timers should work the race-morning checklist before taper brain sets in. For a cold high-desert October start see St. George; for the opposite, Erie shows what humidity did to finishing times this month.

FAQ

How many weeks until the Chicago Marathon 2026? From Monday, Sept. 28, it is 13 days, just under two weeks, to Sunday, Oct. 11.

How long should the long run be two weeks out? Most plans cut to roughly 60–70% of the peak long run, which for a 20-mile peak lands near 12 to 14 easy miles.

What time does the New York City Marathon start? Its listing shows staggered waves from 9:40 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1. Exact wave assignments arrive with the runner guide.

Is the Philadelphia Marathon sold out? Yes, as of Sept. 28. Its site lists the marathon, the half and all the challenges as sold out and sends runners to charity partners for guaranteed entry.

Sources

• Race dates, start times and entry status: chicagomarathon.com schedule of events; tcmevents.org; marinemarathon.com; philadelphiamarathon.com and its Sept. 26 training run page; runcim.org; Race Roster's TCS New York City Marathon event listing. All checked Sept. 28, 2026, except the New York listing, last checked Sept. 21.
• Forecasts: National Weather Service hourly gridpoint forecasts (MPX 108,72; LOT 76,73; LWX 97,71; OKX 34,45; PHI 49,79; STO 41,68) for Minneapolis, Grant Park in Chicago, the National Mall, Central Park, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and downtown Sacramento, issued the morning of Sept. 28, 2026.
• Sunrise and civil twilight for Oct. 4: U.S. Naval Observatory one-day rise/set tables.