My brother and I completed the California International Marathon yesterday and highly enjoyed the experience. The weather was beautiful, the fans were enthusiastic and the course was interesting. It's definitely a course that you can run a fast time on, especially if you don't mind rolling hills.

The only things that could be improved for the race would be a few more porta-potties at the start (lines were pretty long and resulted in us starting a few minutes after the gun went off) and better food at the finish (loved the tomato soup but there wasn't much else to enjoy). Otherwise, everything about the race was good and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in running a small but enjoyable marathon.

This was my very first marathon in my life and I just loved it. This marathon actually inspired me to become a better runner and since this event, I have been training intensively.

The course was mostly downhill and very scenic. What surprised me was the spectators and volunteers. They were there to cheer you in that early chilly morning. I really thank their effort in spite of weekend morning sleepover.

As for the organization, I can't really compare with others yet, because this was my first marathon. However, there were plenty of water stations and porta-potties and so forth. And yeah, the medal at the finish line was beautiful.

Well, overall I loved it and yes, I am running next year - with intensive preparation to make the Boston Marathon!

Definitely do this race for a very quick time! There is plenty of room to run on the wide streets and the frequent aid stations and spectators will keep you going!

Just be careful of the weather. It can be quite cool at the start (near freezing). The days leading up to the race in 2006 were quite cold, rainy and windy! Also watch out for the fast start. It would be very wise to stick with one of the excellent pacers the entire route.

This was my third run of CIM and admittedly a mistake was made on my part - promised to help a slower run acheive a PR. That said, there seems to be an attitude of "if you ain't fast - you ain't nothing" by many race organizers, not limited to CIM.

Pacing to finish at 5:45 found that many of the water stations were closed well before the cut-off (many volunteers were apologizing), the trucks picking up equipment were darting in and around runners - and worst of all - there was very, very little support at the finish and no medals. The reason given? "More people than expected." Oh my gosh! How, after 24 years of putting on a race, can you run short of medals? We did receive in the mail a medal only three weeks later - that was impressive and responsive - but this race is going to be in trouble when folks catch on to the Sac Cowtown Marathon held the first weekend of October when the weather is more predictable.

This was my fourth marathon, and my goal was to qualify for Boston. I ran with the 3:15 pace group to meet my required time. The pace group was excellent; we were within 2-3 seconds of our pace at every mile for most of the race and ran a slightly negative split. Chip time 3:13:58, gun time 3:14:20 - 30 minutes faster than my best time. Weather worked out perfectly; cool/cold at the start (mid-30s) and warming up slightly (42); no wind. Fast point-to-point course with some small/short rolling hills.

I ran the 2005 CIM. It was my first marathon & a fabulous experience. The course is wonderful, spectators encouraging and good support. I am planning to run it again in 2006.

This was my first marathon. We flew in from Seattle for this race because of:
a) reliable weather;
b) nice & easy rolling hills, leveling off to flat at the last third of the race;
c) excellent support and cheering along the entire way;
d) pretty scenery;
e) great organization and enough water & gel along the route;
f) lots of entertaining bands and music (especially those guys playing the Ramones).

All my expectations were exceeded tremendously. The race was enjoyable from start to finish. Everything fell into place perfectly. The only items that could be slightly improved are:
a) more burners for the tomato soup at the end. After waiting for 15 minutes post-race, we had to give up since we could not stand around any longer;
b) better t-shirt design. Hey, how about brighter colors and a logo that does not look so small and coded?

I don't think I could have picked a better first marathon. Even my time was better than expected. Looking forward to the next one!

Very well organized and executed. There were about 4000 runners, which is a comfortable number for space on the road. I drove the course the Thursday before, and the weather was totally miserable, with cold rain and wind. However, on race-day Sunday, it was clear with no wind - but cold (freezing at the start). But it seemed to warm up quickly once the sun is up.

Go to Dr. Polansky's presentation about the marathon course at the expo. It is very interesting and will answer any questions you have about this marathon.

At the start, there is a new gas station/store to stay warm in while waiting for the start.

The Clif-Bar pace teams are the way to go if you are planning on a specific time, or just to keep from going out too fast. The 3:30 pacer was amazing!! He was right on the dot, every mile!!

This is a great race. But you may be taking a chance on the weather.

This is a real runner's race with a nice feel to it. Organization was great, low-key expo was easy to get in and out of. Buses to the start and getting sweat bags back worked perfectly. There were tons of porta-potties. Start was cold (for us So. Cal. types), but it was pretty good weather for Sac. in early December. Course was just as advertised: Rolling start with more downs than ups. There were some patches of good crowd support from the locals along the way. Great finish right in front of the Capitol. Nice medal and pretty good post-race food.

I was shooting for a time under 3:00:00 and finished in 2:55 and change. Loved the pace callers at every mile - definitely helped me get my goal time. Perfect combo of slight inclines and declines. The sports drink was terrible - why doesn't everyone just use Gatorade??