ChiMarathon vs PACER 42
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ChiMarathon
Prepare for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon with this comprehensive resource. Track runners live, view athlete profiles, and access real-time weather and course maps. Spectators can send digital cheers to be displayed on the course.
- Live runner tracking
- Athlete profiles
- Live broadcast streaming
- Real-time weather
- Interactive course map
- Digital cheer submission
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The Bank of America Chicago Marathon App, Powered by Tata Consultancy Services is the perfect resource to prepare for the 2026 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Whether you’re running or spectating, the free mobile app includes everything you’ll need to be prepared for a great race week experience. The app features unlimited live race day runner tracking, professional athlete profiles, live broadcast streaming, real-time weather, an interactive course map, participant bib share and more!
PACER 42
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PACER 42 turns every kilometer into competition, community and rewards. The app that recognizes your effort and motivates you to run at your own pace. Run with your watch, Strava, Polar, Apple Health or our built-in tracker: everything counts automatically — no duplicates, no setup. CHALLENGES THAT MOVE YOU Monthly distance, weekly, single-activity and consistency challenges. Join, run, and watch your progress bar move in real time. LIVE RANKINGS Every challenge has an instant leaderboard with overall, men's and women's filters. Your position follows you from the home screen — you always know who's just ahead. THE OFFICIAL RANKING The amateur ranking for 10K, half marathon and marathon, with your best official time down to the second. Every mark is verified and curated by PACER before publishing — look for the blue verification seal: a serious board, for real times. YOUR CLUB, YOUR TEAM Join a club in your city. Captains launch internal challenges and collective goals where every member's kilometers push toward a shared target — with a per-runner cap, so the goal belongs to everyone. Club battles, 1v1 duels on The Track and Stars of the Month. THE TRACK PACER's open arena: challenge your friends — or any runner — to duels of more kilometers, elevation or consistency, one on one or as teams. Duel history and personal records. POINTS AND STORE Every kilometer you run earns points. Complete challenges, stack them up, and redeem for real products in the store: your effort, recognized. PARTNERS Exclusive perks for PACER runners at gyms, physiotherapy centers, nutrition stores and more: show the app, scan the QR at the venue and redeem. FREE GIVEAWAYS Enter at no cost for real prizes by completing selected challenges. Terms available in the app. HEALTH Track your metrics, generate your PDF report and share it with your doctor or coach. Available in Spanish and English. RUN. COMPETE. WIN.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ChiMarathon at none against PACER 42's 3. PACER 42's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. PACER 42 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. ChiMarathon asks for nothing beyond the download.
ChiMarathon ships an update every 2 weeks, PACER 42 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ChiMarathon | PACER 42 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (45 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 32.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 45 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 112 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tata Consultancy Services | Santiago Cuenca |
Bugs and requests
ChiMarathon
Reported bugs
59 issues- Mile markers inconsistent
- Map shows water stations for runners
- Units displayed incorrectly (miles vs km)
- App doesn't update times
- Links in map don't work
Show 54 moreShow fewer
- Won't connect to server
- X-axis incorrect units (miles vs km)
- Y-axis decreasing (unhelpful visualization)
- Race day timer shows race is a day away
- Cannot track racer, times out
- Tracking feature not trustworthy
- No way to switch to miles
- Incredibly glitchy
- No mile markers this year
- Pace graph based on 100 seconds
- Needs to track distance by miles
- Default to kilometers with no option to change
- Map not updated on race day
- Worthless app
- No buttons work
- Cannot enter bib number
- Live data shows server error
- No way for runners to claim profile
- Mixes up miles and kilometers
- Pace graph based on minutes/100 seconds
- App defaults in metrics
- No ability to change pace to min/mile
- Leaderboard defaults to male runners
- App stalled, tracking didn't work
- Tracking search bar doesn't work
- App missed me at starting line and 15k mark
- App reported time over an hour slower
- Time still wrong on app after 2 days
- Tracking isn't real-time, only check-in points
- App insists on zooming back to user location
- Tracking experience disappointing
- Cannot connect to server
- Rubbish app
- Worst site for tracking a runner
- App could never connect to server
- Difficult to track multiple friends due to lack of splits
- App splits calculated in kilometers
- Doing calculations for miles/kilometers is not a good experience
- Can't track runners on map
- Useless app
- Only gives times at 10k, 20k, 30k and finish
- Impossible to track individual runner
- Missed our runner
- Doesn't work
- App freezing
- Cannot track anyone
- Cannot connect to server
- Map doesn't work
- Program stalled
- Tracking didn't work
- Search bar doesn't work
- App missed runner at start and 15k
- App reported time over an hour slower
- Time still wrong on app after 2 days
Requested features
31 requests- Geared towards spectators for map tracking
- Display mile markers clearly
- Option to switch between miles and kilometers
- Update app design to be more modern
- Real-time updates and alerts for runners
Show 26 moreShow fewer
- Add mile markers
- Option to convert kilometers to miles
- Add spectator viewing route feature
- Preload anticipated pace for recommended viewing points
- Allow users to switch between miles and kilometers
- Add option to change pace to minutes per mile
- Allow users to change pace to minutes per mile
- Add cheer cards feature
- Improve customer support
- Add automatic updates like Boston's app
- Update map for current year's event
- Fix tracking for runners
- Add a toggle or default to miles
- Provide a single click tracking link
- Add splits every 5 miles
- Streamline measurements (miles and kilometers)
- Allow viewing splits in miles or kilometers
- Add spectator 'viewing route' feature
- Add ability to send real-time messages to runners
- Add ability for runners to access messages easily
- Fix search bar for runner information
- Add end of race picture at finish line
- Add feature to track self for PR
- Add option to default to female runners on leaderboards
- Improve GPS tracking data
- Make tracking real-time
PACER 42
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ChiMarathon
No in-app purchases
PACER 42
- 1 Crédito$3.49
- 2 Créditos$5.99
- 5 Créditos$11.99
Questions
Is ChiMarathon free?
Is PACER 42 free?
Do ChiMarathon or PACER 42 have ads?
Which is updated more often, ChiMarathon or PACER 42?
Other comparisons
