CHICAGO — One of the biggest questions about the Chicago Marathon is one part of the race the runners can’t control: The weather.

In 2023, it looks like the participants are about to catch a break from Mother Nature.

The forecast from the WGN Weather Center is ideal for marathon running with mostly cloudy skies expected for the entire day. There is a slight chance for some light showers and sprinkles, but for the most part, will be dry and cool.

Temperatures around the start of the race are expected to be 45 degrees with temperatures reaching the low 50s around 10 a.m. The high temperature during the race figures to hit in the 1 p.m. hour at 55 degrees with things cooling off around 4 p.m. when a majority of the runners will have completed the event.

Winds will be out of the northwest at 10-15 miles per hour, with occasional gusts to 20 miles per hour.

According to FindMyMarathon.com, this is cooler than average for the Chicago Marathon over the last 20 years. In that time, the race has had an average high of 67 degrees with a low of 50 degrees.

If the forecast holds, this would be the coolest marathon since 2019, when the high temperature was 53 degrees. In 2021, the high temperature was 79 degrees while it was 67 for the 2022 race.

During the last 20 years, the highest temperature for the Chicago Marathon was 88 degrees in 2007, when the race had to be cut short due to the heat. Two years later was the coolest race in that span, with the high temperature being 45 degrees in 2009.