CTA Service Convenient Option for Participants and Spectators to the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon

LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon fans can count on the Chicago Transit Authority as a travel option this Sunday, October 9. CTA will be operating longer trains and extra buses to accommodate spectators. Several bus routes also will be temporarily detoured during the race.

Rail Service
Longer trains will operate on the following schedule:

Blue Line ? O'Hare branch, from 5:40 a.m. until 2:50 p.m.
Blue Line ? Forest Park branch, from 5:43 a.m. until 2:55 p.m.
Blue Line ? 54th/Cermak branch, new weekend service is available this year starting at 4:05 a.m. Longer trains will operate from 5:51 a.m. until 3:01 p.m.
Green Line ? Harlem/Lake branch, from 6:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m.
Green Line ? Ashland/63rd branch, from 6:22 a.m. until 4:02 p.m.
Green Line ? Cottage Grove/East 63rd branch, from 6:40 a.m. until 4:15 p.m.
Orange Line ? from 5:35 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
Brown Line ? from 5:01 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. More frequent service also will operate.
Red Line ? from Howard, longer trains will begin running at 5 a.m. and from 95th Street at 5:24 a.m. More frequent service also will operate.

Additional Customer Assistants will be on hand on at stations along the Blue and Red Lines and at Loop elevated stations to help customers with travel or fare information.

For marathon fans interested in following the progress of the race, there are spectator viewing areas designated near CTA rail stations at 11 points along the race route. They are:

First Viewing Area ? Jackson (Red Line) Station ? Race Start, Mile #2.Board a Red Line train and exit at Jackson. Walk a half-mile east toward Grant Park. The marathon will start just south of Monroe on Columbus Drive.
Second Viewing Area ? Grand (Red Line) Station ? Miles #1, #3 and #12.Board a Red Line train and exit at Grand.
Third Viewing Area ? Chicago (Red Line) Station ? Miles #3.5 and #11.5. Board a Red Line train and exit at Chicago. Walk three blocks west to LaSalle.
Fourth Viewing Area ? Addison (Red Line) Station ? Mile #7.75. Board a Red Line train and exit at Addison. Walk four blocks east to Broadway. Runners will be heading west on Addison and turning south onto Broadway.
Fifth Viewing Area ? Sedgwick (Brown Line) Station ? Mile #10.25. Board a Brown Line train and exit at Sedgwick.
Sixth Viewing Area ? Medical Center (Blue Line) Station ? Mile #15.Board a Blue Line train and exit at Medical Center. Use the Damen exit.
Seventh Viewing Area ? UIC-Halsted (Blue Line) Station ? Miles #16, 17, 18. Board a Blue Line train and exit at UIC-Halsted. Use the Halsted exit to view runners at Mile 17. Use the Halsted or Morgan exits and either walk two blocks north to Adams to view the runners at Mile 16 or walk south through the UIC campus to the Mile 18 mark in Little Italy.
Eighth Viewing Area ? Halsted (Orange Line) Station ? Mile #20.5.Board an Orange Line train and exit at Halsted.
Ninth Viewing Area ? Cermak-Chinatown (Red Line) Station ? Mile #21.25. Board a Red Line train and exit at Cermak-Chinatown. Walk a half-block west on Cermak Road to Wentworth.
Tenth Viewing Area ? 35th-Bronzeville-IIT (Green Line) Station ? Miles #23, 24. Board a Green Line train and exit at 35th-Bronzeville-IIT. Use the 34th Street exit and walk one block north to 33rd Street. Alternately, use the 35th Street exit and walk three blocks west to LaSalle.
Eleventh Viewing Area ? Roosevelt (Red, Green and Orange Lines) Station ? Finish Line. Board a Red, Green or Orange Line train and exit at Roosevelt. Walk east on Roosevelt toward Museum Campus/Grant Park.

Fare Information
CTA recommends buying your fare cards in advance.

In addition to pay-per-ride Transit Cards, unlimited ride Visitor Passes also are available. A 1-day ($5) pass offers 24 hours of unlimited riding from the first use.

This pass cannot be shared or recharged. Visitors can purchase 2-day ($9), 3-day ($12) and 5-day ($18) and 7-Day ($20) passes as well. For Visitor Pass and advance sales locations, call 1-888-YOUR-CTA or visit www.transitchicago.com. Transit Cards and Visitor Passes will be sold at the CTA booth at The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon Health & Fitness Expo taking place Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8 at the McCormick Place Convention Center, North Building, Hall B-1.

Visitor Passes also can be purchased with exact cash or major credit cards at vending machines located at O'Hare, Midway, Chicago/State, Cumberland and Rosemont rail stations and at the Water Works Visitor Information Center at Chicago/Michigan.

Bus Service
The CTA will provide extra bus service from Union Station on the morning of the marathon. Customers should exit Union Station at Jackson and board the #126 Jackson bus to Congress and Michigan, then walk one block east to Columbus for the start of the race. The first bus will leave Union Station at 6:03 a.m. and will operate every 6 - 10 minutes from 6:33 a.m. until 8:12 a.m.

CTA also will operate earlier service on the #3 King Drive bus route between McCormick Place (from 6 a.m. until 8:30 a.m.) and Michigan/Chicago (from 6:22 a.m. until 8:47 a.m.) to accommodate runners and spectators staying in downtown hotels. Service will run every 15 minutes.

During the course of the race, there will be intermittent detours along several CTA bus routes. The affected routes are: #3 King Drive, #4 Cottage Grove, #6 Jackson Park Express, #8 Halsted, #9 Ashland, #10 Museum of Science & Industry, #11 Lincoln, #12 Roosevelt, #14 Jeffery Express, #18 16th/18th, #20 Madison, #21 Cermak, #22 Clark, #29 State, #35 35th, #36 Broadway, #44 Wallace/Racine, #50 Damen, #56 Milwaukee, #60 Blue Island/26th, #62 Archer, #65 Grand, #66 Chicago, #70 Division, #72 North, #73 Armitage, #74 Fullerton, #76 Diversey, #77 Belmont, #124 Navy Pier, #126 Jackson, #145 Wilson/Michigan Express, #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express, #147 Outer Drive Express, #151 Sheridan and #152 Addison.

Reroutes can be expected in the downtown area from 6:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., on the North Side from 7 a.m. until noon, on the West Side from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. and on the South Side from 6:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. All times are approximate and detours will be determined by Chicago Police and CTA supervisory personnel.

For all CTA service information, call 836-7000 (from any local area code) or visit the web site at www.transitchicago.com.