Well ahead of any runners setting foot on the Chicago Marathon course Sunday, a technical crew of about a dozen toured the same streets in preparation for NBC 5 and Telemundo’s broadcast of the race.
Producers, directors, camera operators and tech people drove and walked the 26.2 miles, looking for picturesque shots and potential hazards for the four-hour show.
“They’ll point out [that] last year we had a problem with our feed here, [or] something has been built that wasn’t here last year, [or] ‘How do we navigate this turn?’ ” said Kevin Cross, president and general manager of both stations.
The scouting is a key component for a production that covers a lot of ground. And it’s only the beginning for the 180-plus staffers who will bring the race to screens around the world. NBC 5 begins broadcasting with a prerace special at 6:30 a.m. Sunday. Race coverage on NBC 5 and Telemundo runs from 7 to 11 a.m.
The race marks NBC 5’s 22nd year of live coverage and its 18th in a row. Marion Brooks returns as the lead studio host, with Stefan Holt hosting on-site and Alex Maragos at the start/finish line. They’ll be joined by other anchors, reporters and analysts spread across the course. Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes will provide all-important weather updates.
NBC views its coverage as two halves. First, it focuses on the elite runners and wheelchair athletes. Then it turns to the amateur runners and neighborhoods through which they traverse. NBC has been profiling runners and sharing their stories throughout the year.
“Part of who we are as NBC, more than just NBC Chicago, [is] we’ve learned through our coverage of things like the Olympics that you really get invested in an athlete when you know their story,” Cross said. “That gives you something that is a little extra.”
NBC 5 has learned about runners’ stories with the help of race director Carey Pinkowski, who has held the position since 1990. Given how long the station has been covering the race, people also reach out with stories about family, friends or themselves.
The broadcast is a truly local production. Although NBC 5 has considered hiring a vendor to handle it, it continues to use the same camera people who cover news stories at WMAQ-Channel 5 and WSNS-Channel 44.
“Our folks here love doing it,” Cross said. “It’s a different muscle they get to use, as opposed to the news they have to cover every day. They love being out in the field. That’s where it starts, with the people.
“And then you have to have the equipment. We’re in a position where we have the ability to go live from anywhere in the city, and this is a live event. So we’re built for that.”
That equipment includes a new device that will steady the camera shots from motorcycles driving on the course. Motorcycles have been a staple of NBC 5’s coverage, but Chicago’s bumpy roads have tended to make the cameras bounce. This harness will solve the problem.
Every camera shot — from more than 35 ground and drone cameras — will feed into the NBC 5 and Telemundo control rooms at NBC Tower. That’s where director Brian Bertino decides what goes over the air on the stations’ shared feed. He’ll work alongside executive producers Eric Strobel (NBC 5) and Milton Baca (Telemundo).
“It’s their job to make decisions, and honestly, that’s the toughest part of what they’re doing,” Cross said. “They don’t have to worry about, ‘Do we have this covered or that covered?’ The hardest part of their job is deciding ‘What do I show now?’ ”
So what will the boss do during the race?
“My role is to make sure that everyone’s in a good spot,” Cross said. “I try to get there and say hi to the crew, make sure the crew knows that I’m there with them — I got up early, and I’m here, too. I’m in multiple places doing multiple things, but mostly just staying out of the way.”
Remote patrol
The Score will broadcast the marathon for the 20th year from 7 to 11 a.m. Sunday. Josh Liss of sister station WBBM Newsradio will host. The Score midday show co-host Leila Rahimi will report from the start/finish line. Gabe Ramirez, Judson Richards and Mike Esposito will report from neighborhoods along the course.
CHICAGO MARATHON
TV/radio: NBC 5, Telemundo, 670 The Score
Time: 7-11 a.m.
Streaming:
– NBC 5 Chicago News 24/7 channel
– NBCChicago.com, TelemundoChicago.com
– NBC Chicago app, Telemundo Chicago app
– NBC Chicago YouTube channel
– Peacock
Finish Line Cam: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
– Stationary cameras on runners crossing the finish line accessible via websites and apps.
*Live stream available to all viewers in the U.S. and Mexico.
TALENT ROSTER
NBC 5
Marion Brooks (studio host)
Stefan Holt (on-site host)
Carrie Tollefson (race analyst)
Ed Eyestone (race analyst)
Amanda McGrory (wheelchair race analyst)
Keira D’Amato (on-course analyst)
Clayton Young (on-course analyst)
Alex Maragos (start/finish line host)
Kevin Jeanes (weather reporter)
Kate Chappell (on-course reporter, Chinatown)
Michelle Relerford (on-course reporter, Pilsen)
Cortney Hall (on-course reporter, Wacker & Randolph “halfway point”)
Matt Rodrigues (on-course reporter, Wacker & Randolph “halfway point”)
TELEMUNDO
Raúl Delgado (studio host)
Hector Lozano (on-site host)
Luis Felipe Posso (race analyst)
Juan Luis Barrios (race analyst)
Saúl Mendoza (wheelchair race analyst)
Iris Berríos (start/finish line host)
Priscilla Ferreyra (on-course reporter, Chinatown)
Santiago Gallego (on-course reporter, Pilsen)
Jessica Suárez (on-course reporter, Wacker & Randolph “halfway point”)