Chicago Event Management

CEM around the world 🌎 ✈️

April was a busy month for our team! From Washington DC to Boston, and London to Paris to Belgrade, CEM-ers got a full taste of the spring event season. Congratulations to all event participants and organizers who crossed a finish line this month!

As CEM works to inspire the next generation of runners, Bank of America Chicago Marathon partner Abbott is doing the same for young soccer players.

Abbott Laboratories and Real Madrid are launching the 2026 Abbott Dream Team, creating opportunities for 18 and 19-year-old players, especially those from underserved communities, to be seen and supported. Chicago-area athletes can try out on June 9, and 16 players will earn a fully funded trip to Madrid to train at Real Madrid’s world-class facilities. Learn more and sign up for the try outs: https://www.abbottdreamteam.com/

While many of our team members witnessed the 130th Boston Marathon in person yesterday, the rest of our team was cheering on participants (and placing bets on finish times) from Chicago. Congratulations to all the finishers and the Boston Athletic Association team for another fantastic event!

The Running USA 2026 Global Runner Survey is now live! Share your runner habits and preferences to help the industry identify trends and opportunities to grow. Submit your response now through July 31: http://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8699694/CEM

March 20, 2026 marked 30 years since Mike and Carey founded Chicago Event Management. Three decades of unforgettable races, an incredible community, and the people who make it all possible.

Our team made the time to celebrate this huge milestone during the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle weekend, which also celebrated its 45th race on Sunday. We’re proud to be part of such a meaningful tradition and legacy. 

Cheers to 30 years of Chicago Event Management, and to many more finish lines ahead. 👟

We’re almost Bank of America ready! We can’t wait to see our participants starting tomorrow at Packet Pick-up. ☘️

Many thanks to the volunteers who joined us on Sunday morning to help ensure the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle course is ready to go on race day! Volunteers helped to notify the local community of the upcoming event, street closures and parking restrictions. Thank you for your support, leadership and making it a fun morning, Midway Mile Chasers, Read & Run Chicago, Panteras and the Greeley School Community!

Mike and Carey spent the last two weeks in Japan as spectators and supporters of the country’s larger marathons. First up, they were able to get a taste of the participant experience through the eyes of Oak Park Runners leaders Geri and Nick Benson, who were first timers in the country and finishers of the Osaka Marathon 大阪マラソン【公式】. The following weekend kicked off the spring season of the Abbott World Marathon Majors at the Tokyo Marathon 東京マラソン財団, where previous Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion Brigid Kosgei broke the tape in a new course record!

Now they are back home and looking forward to kicking off the Bank of America Chicago Distance Series season at the on March 22.

Last week we brought together several of our event partners for our annual Sponsor Summit! From activations and storytelling at our events, to new initiatives and strategies for 2026, the presentations across the day aided in the excitement for this year’s running season. We ended the day laughing together at Zanies Comedy Club Chicago. Thanks to all who joined us and we look forward to kicking off 2026 at next month’s Bank of America !

📸: MarathonFoto

A large group of CEM-ers went down to St. Louis for this year’s Running USA conference! It was a great few days catching up with industry friends and partners, checking out the landmarks of the city and learning from each other. The team left feeling inspired and ready to take on 2026!

Thanks MarathonFoto for capturing the conference!

Thank you to the incredible volunteers who supported our sustainability efforts throughout 2025! Together, we made meaningful progress toward reducing waste and giving materials new life.