Sacramento Running News

You’ve trained for months and got up at the crack of dawn for the big race. You waited in Folsom for the start, shivering in the dark, with thousands of your friends.

Now, 25 exhausting miles later, you can almost smell the finish line as you pound your way down L Street.

Suddenly, a half block ahead of you, lights flash and bells clang as the guards drop at the railroad crossing. “Can this really be happening?” you wonder. It is certainly possible.

At last year’s Sactown 10, this very thing happened, despite assurances from the railroad that it would not. Subsequently, race management made the prudent decision to re-route the course to avoid the crossing.

But the California International Marathon, finishing at the Capitol, has to cross these tracks. Without completely changing the 30-year old race, there is simply no other way to get from the start to the finish–and Sacramento has no railroad overpasses in Midtown.

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By John Schumacher

A strong group of international runners heads the men’s field while a talented American runner looks like the favorite on the women’s side for the 32^nd annual California International Marathon on Dec. 7.

Kenyans Julius Koskei, Eliud Ngetich and Jacob Chemtai, Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Alemayehu and Zambia’s Jordan Chipangama all appear capable of winning the men’s race and the $10,000 first prize on the 26.2-mile course from near Folsom Dam to the state Capitol.

Koskei, the 2013 CIM runnerup, owns a 2:10:14 personal best, the fastest time in the men’s field. Alemayehu, who lives in Antioch, has run 2:11:18, owns two top-three CIM finishes and is a two-time Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run champion.

Ngetich ran 2:11:59 in 2013 and Chemtai delivered a 2:12:39 performance earlier this year. Chipangama also stood out in 2014 with a 2:12:22 effort.

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Tim and Lindsay Tollefson before the 2012 Trials (Photo courtesy Tim Tollefson)

By John Schumacher

Tim and Lindsay Tollefson headed into the 2013 California International Marathon hoping to record qualifying times for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.

The couple might have achieved something else last December during the 26.2-mile race from Folsom to the state Capitol: a Guinness World Record.

The Tollefsons’ combined time of 5 hours – he ran 2:18:29, she finished in 2:41:31 — appears to be the fastest marathon run by a married couple in the same event. Guinness lists Kenta and Norika Soto of Japan as the current record holders for fastest married couple, aggregate time, with a 5:28:23 mark.

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While I am not one of those crazy CIM “streakers,” this year I marked my 11th CIM finish, and 13th start. Many of them were cold–especially at the start–but none were as cold as this one.

How cold was it? It was so cold that some of the buses at the starting line were capped with snow–snow that wasn’t melting despite the buses’ heaters running.

It was cold enough to ice over the Power Aid in the paper cups at the aid stations.

And it was also cold enough for the spilled water and electrolyte drink to freeze on the ground, turning the road along the aid stations into crazy, jostling ice rinks.

I’m sure RD Michelle LaSala has added “road salt” to the aid station supply list, something no previous race director has ever had to worry about.

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Numerous road closures will be in place on Sunday during the 31st annual California International Marathon, which begins at 7 a.m.

Here is a mile-by-mile look at closures along the course from near Folsom Dam to the state Capitol, provided by the marathon organizers:

1 – 5:20 a.m.-7:15 a.m. – Folsom-Auburn and Oak

2 – 5:20-7:30 – Oak and American River Canyon

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Inspired by the book Running With the Kenyans, Sacramento runner Conyers Davis decided to use Fundraise.com to bring two of the featured runners to Sacramento so they can run in the California International Marathon.

Read all about it in the Sacramento Bee.

Davis believes others will also fall in love with the story of these runners and decide to contribute. His fundraiser is simple: He’s looking for 250 people to donate $26 each to bring the runners here. The $6,000 or so will pay for travel, lodging and the documents necessary for the athletes to make the trip.

I think I might have $26 lying around here somewhere. What about you?

You may still have a chance to get in!

By John Schumacher

The California International Marathon reached its 8,000-runner cap more than three months before the race and has closed general registration.

The race, founded by the Sacramento Running Association, has filled in each of the last five years. This year’s event, set for December 8th, hit its registration limit over the weekend.

But runners still have two ways to gain a spot in the field.

There are 300 charity entries available at $250 each, with 100 percent of the money going to the SRA’s youth fitness programs. Part of the entry fee ($120) is tax deductible.

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Don’t procrastinate!

The trend for marathons these days is to fill up and fill up early.

It seems that the local, popular California International Marathon is no different.

The race filled up last year by August 22nd, and race management is reporting fewer than 1,000 of the total 8,000 entries remain available.

I guarantee you it will fill to capacity, so if you are planning to run the race–register soon.

This is a far cry from the good old days when we could sign up for the race at the expo!

If you are a faster runner (approximately able to meet Boston qualifying standards), there will be an additional window for registration between October 1st and October 15th for runners who can meet the Guaranteed Entry Standards.

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Is it the steeplechase or a marathon? (Photo courtesy of Randy Wehner Photography)

When we look back on the California International Marathon of 2012, what will first spring to mind is the Atmospheric River.

Over my decades of running, I have experienced some pretty intense weather. My one run at Boston was in the infamous nor’easter of 2007.

I ran most of the stormy 2001 CIM before crapping out and slinking away in my wife’s car at mile 17.

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There is, apparently, some kind of road race thing going on this Sunday. (In this rain?! Even the ducks are staying indoors!)

Starting at 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning, there will be 16,000 self centered “athletes” clogging up the roads and interfering with your ability to drive your SUV to the doughnut shop.

Also, if one of your loved ones has the bad judgement to be out there, slogging their way to the Capitol in the rain, and you are planning to be out there to support them, you may need to plot a circuitous route to get your where you need to be. (But really, in this weather? Can’t you love them just as much while you are snuggled in your bed?)

Whatever.

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