It was a fine race... the weather cleared up, the point-to-point course was great, the crowds were wonderful and the aid sations were just peachy... but an unexpected train stopped runners at about mile 23 for a few minutes. Ouch (I just got by the gates). They promise it won't happen again, but the race seems to be managed by local civic boosters rather than runners. No pasta feed the night before and poor post-race food goodies were, I guess, attempts to fill the local restaurants.

This was my first marathon and liked what the CIM course had to offer. The hills in the first 12 miles of the course made for a good balance between the flat and downhill portions of the course. The weather was great, spectators were very supportive, and the organization was alright. The field of faster runners was better then most marathons I think. I hope to run this marathon again in the future.

Course may have a net drop, but it swoops and rolls plenty. I'd like to see the finish extended down to 2nd Street or thereabouts so that there's more of a straightaway to the finish. Mile flags are great, needed a 13.1 mile marker, and the Clif Shots would have been more appreciated at 10 and 15 miles rather than 19. A bus driver who knew where she was going and that you don't drive through exit signs would have helped.

Pace groups were great!

This race needs chips and corrals. The start may be wide, but it narrows down fast!

This was marathon #5 for me, and I ran CIM largely based on its reputation. I wasn't disappointed. Although Saturday's weather had us a bit nervous, Sunday was beautiful! There was a bit of a headwind towards the end, but nothing too bad. I've run in much worse!

Anyway - my thoughts.
1) Ultima needs to go! Nothing to it - tastes bad, no carbs, no sugar, nothing helpful! Please, ANYTHING but Ultima!

2) Agree with a previous poster - need to do Clif Shots as promised. Whether there's one spot or two, the description should match what actually happens!

3) Hills. They won't slow you down if you run them right (I agree that this is a fast course) - but if you run the race, DEFINITELY drive the course ahead of time to see what you're getting yourself into. It's a bit quirky, but run right, is blazing! And yes, the bridge does look like a mountain when you get there!

This was well worth the drive, and I hope to run it again at some point! Great job guys, keep it up!

Well, it looks like this will be the first response for this year's (12/7/03) race, so they must be the most important :). Altogether it's a wonderful race--all previous comments cover it. This year we had killer weather, though there was a headwind last 10 miles or so. Organization and expo presenters were terrific. A few pieces of constructive criticism, however:

(1) Race info said Cliff Shots at miles 13 and 18. They only happened at mile 20. For those who don't like to carry anything, it was very disappointing to have to wait another 7 miles for the goo.

(2) With over 5,000 people, they have to start chip timing. It took me 16 seconds to get to the starting line, and another 100 yards to start striding with rhythm. Yes, the street is wide, but not wide enough for that throng.

(3) NIX the relay!!! Not only does it busy the field, but as we all know there's a different energy there--make it a pure marathon. Given its increasing popularity, I'm sure money won't be lost. In fact, it would be great to bill it as 'marathon only'.

(4) Finally, from what I saw (and I looked!) there were no sports drinks at the finish except for some strange tube that you open and suck on--it reminded me of the ice cream vendors. Since Ultima was the thing, why not have plenty of it around at the end. It's not entirely safe just to offer water.

With all that said, it is a well organized race, with clearly friendly, committed volunteers. I imagine the large field took the directors by surprise some.

All aspects of the run are five-star except for the time of year. The whether is very unpredicable. It is not unusual to see freezing or below temperatures and wind in Sacramento in December. An earlier date (possibly October) is now being considered for this reason. The 2002 whether was awful, but in 2003 it was superb. The course is essentially level (one small hill at the end of mile one) and actually has a net loss in elevation, and is therefore great for Boston marathon qualifying. The scenery is typical suburban to city with mostly tree lined streets, plenty of spectators (whether permitting), great mile markers (large flags with a volunteer calling out split times), and excellent aid stations. The run has a great finish that takes care of its runners.

I've run CIM three times - 99', 00', & 01' and each time I've had the same reaction - the course is not as good as it should be when it's held in a city which Runner's World described as one of the three best cities for running in the U.S. It's uneventful (code for boring) during miles 11-17, and with all that we have to offer in SAC - trails, rivers, hills, state capitol (yes, it finishes there, but need more), & Old Town - I always feel as though I've just completed a marathon in Cleveland after running CIM. I'm sorry if I've offended transplanted Clevelanders, but I'm one too, so you ex-Revco Marathoners know what I mean. The course is touted as fast, which is not true, but that's okay as long as those entering aren't expecting PRs.

While it's more of my whining and not a reason to avoid CIM, weather can be unpredictable - reference the 2001 monsoon/windstorm. I'm sure the CIM racing team has done the best they can trying to fit in SAC's best reasons for running, while planning the course for attracting maximum people support - it can't be an easy job - but with all we have to offer it would seem the course could be much better.

Perfect west coast qualifier for Boston. This is a great race course and race organizing team.

This was my 3rd marathon of the year (Hono 2001, Rockn'Roll 2002 being the others). CIM was very well organized. Water stations were well run, except for the hose water which was really nasty stuff. But thank goodness for the Ultima. Even though I trained with Gatorade, I took some of the Ultima and I wasn't bothered by it. This is a course to PR on. The weather was perfect. The crowd and police support were excellent. I was bothered however by the large contingent of motorcycle gangs at the Capitol (the finish line) area that were congregating for the Toys' for Tots dropoff. The bikes roared by frequently and I was unnerved and so were many of the runners. The gas exhaust also bothered me. But it was a great day for a great run!

I prepared for this race for a long time and, thanks in part to perfect race-day weather, had a wonderful time.

Course: People who complain about 'hills' in this race must not have to train on many real hills. The first half of CIM has some definite 'bumps' - usually fairly short uphills which are always followed by downhills. The second half seemed pretty flat. I thought this course would be perfect to PR on, given the right weather, and it turned out I was right.

Organization: This race was incredibly well-executed, from the buses to the start, to the starting area, to the water stops, to the well-marked mile markers - where, without fail, volunteers called out the time and our average pace. Nice finish area set-up, too, though the hot soup offered was revolting to me at the time. I had been really worried about the Ultima offered at water stops, because I'd heard it was so yucky, but I trained with it and had no problems. It was always mixed perfectly and tasted better than the nasty water. (Now, having read it was hose water, I understand why!)

Expo and goodies: Here's where I saw room for improvement. The expo was really small. The poster was terrible - flimsy, with not so much as a rubber band to store it. I like to frame my marathon posters, but I gave this one up as a lost cause and let my kids destroy it. The T-shirt is very nice, though, as is the medal. Food in the finishing area was pretty, well, gross.

I will definitely do this one again.