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Apr 28, 2024

California International Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.4

Organization 4.3

Spectators 4.2

Number of comments: 231 [displaying comments 51 to 61]

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Anthony Villasana from Paradise, California (12/8/2011) "Overall a very good race course." (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 California International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This is a point to point race. A bus ride from the hotel was $20.00 but, I wonder how many people pay. Last, yr. it was $10.00. Plus, the drivers took the scenic route in the dark. The course itself had alot of rolling hills. But, after mile 22 it went fast and flat. No head winds on the course (it was very windy the day before). It wasn't too crowded at the hydration areas. Great crowd support from spectators. I think if your representing a popular group or have your name on it helps. You had to charge the hills to appreciate the little downhills on the course. Overall a great experience.
Choy Bacor from Southern California (12/8/2011) "Everything A Marathon Should Be" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 California International Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Ran CIM for the first time this past Sunday and will now continue to run it every year I can. After hearing all of the horror stories about RnR Las Vegas and other marathons it's nice to have participated in a marathon that catered to every runner type (qualifiers and recreational runners). The expo was excellent with many types of clinics offered. Sacramento itself has changed a lot from when I was last there to become a vibrant city with a thriving downtown and midtown full of nice little restaurants, bars, shops, and galleries (check out Time Tested Books!). The bus line, while long, moved along quickly and efficiently. Don't bother with the bus number you're assigned to, you're herded to the next available bus. If you want to sit with your friends make sure you all line up together. I love how you're able to stay in the heated buses until 5 minutes before the start. Plenty of porta potties with minimal wait time. The course is lined with well stocked aid stations and enthusiastic volunteers. There is always someone on the course cheering you on. Each community throws a little town party to cheer on the runners. So you get these patches of 7 huge party like celebrations throughout the course that keeps you moving. Most knowledgeable and enthusiastic crowd support I've ever witnessed. Finish line area was very well managed and volunteers moved runners along efficiently. Pancake breakfast and other post race food (chocolate milk!) was very well done. Large area for reunions and to hang out. Gear bag check retrieval was very well done and efficient. Best marathon to date! You can tell runners organized this event!
m. s. from Portland (12/6/2011) "A good marathon, but..." (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 California International Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I really like running this marathon, as it's usually very cold at the start and somewhat close-ish to my home, but there are a few things people should understand before deciding to run CIM: First, it ain't so easy. The race management heavily promotes it as a super fast Boston qualifier, and on their website, they've been using Bert Yassos' quote that it's 'A super fast -if not the fastest- marathon in the west' for years now. The course does have an altitude loss of 300+ feet, yet the first 17 miles are nothing but rolling hills, one after another after another. Not hard hills, but constant hills. Ya need to do your hill work. Second, they serve Altima as a marathon drink. As previously mentioned by another reviewer, it has no carbs, no sugar and the vitamins provided in the drink won't do anything for you until the following day or so. In short, if you're relying on it to give you ANYTHING that might be beneficial to your run you'll be sorely disappointed. Never mind that Altima is one of the races' biggest financial sponsor. In the end, we'd probably be better off if Koolaid took over the drink sponsorship, as at least it has some sugar in it. Anyway, I still like this race, and will continue to put it on my race calendar every few years or so.
s. S. from colorado (12/6/2011) "Really fun, watch for the uphill" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 California International Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the 2011 CIM this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. I second the comments that the course isn't flat at all nor is it what you envision when they say 'fast downhill.' I was expecting many long downhill stretches with some intermittent ups and it was a lot of short uphill rollers with a couple of sort of steep downhills that make up most of the elevation loss. if you look very closely at the course elevation map you can get an idea of this. definitely find hills in your training and work 'em. the organization was top-notch. we started dead on time, which may be a first. the huge number of potties at the start was a blessing. for some reason i thought there were going to be potties at every mile, and there weren't but they were plentiful enough. spectators were everywhere and they were enthusiastic this year. many times there would be two or three kids standing together in a random spot cheering like crazy. felt good that they'd come out that early in the morning. loads of really enthusiastic folks in the last mile when you really need it. i got a big boost from them and finished stronger than i expected. a very animated, fun volunteer that was pointing me toward the women's finish chute as i rounded the final corner was wonderful. i finished with a big smile because of him/her. weather was flawless - perfect! i recommend this race and will do it again myself.
L. O. from Manila, Philippines (12/5/2011) "Highly recommended!" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 California International Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 2011 was the first time I ran CIM. I've read the comments about the previous CIMs and I must say that the 2011 edition was simply so much better than what it was made out to be by several past participants. First of all, the course is not 'ugly' at all. In fact, it was a good mix of rolling highways, suburbs and urban areas. It wasn't mountains and the ocean but it wasn't bad either. Second, the crowds were very enthusiatic all throughout and came out to cheer even if it was very chilly for most of the day. Third, the rolling course is just perfect. Yes, it's a net downhill course and it felt like one, but there were enough small hills to keep you interested and focused. I can see why many runners PR and BQ here because the last 10k is really just flat and fast. I would love to run CIM again and I had to fly 14,000 miles to run it!
A. O. from Massachusetts (12/5/2011) "Fantastic marathon for a PR or BQ" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran this race to achieve a personal best and I achieved that, beating my last time by 3 minutes! I thought the course was perfect for running fast and the organization was superb for a race of this size. Here are my comments on each aspect of the race: Start Line organization: I stayed in the Lake Natoma Inn in Folsom so I wouldn't have to bother with the shuttles from Sacramento to the start in Folsom. There was a shuttle from our hotel but they wanted runners to board by 5:15am which seemed way too early for a race that didn't start until 7am and the start line was less than 2 miles away! I opted to jog up to the start not realizing the start was completely uphill and would have to board a shuttle bus to go the rest of the way. I was kind of cutting it close as the shuttle bus dropped us off 10 minutes to 7am and I really had to go to the bathroom. Luckily, there were plenty of portapotties at the start, which was a relief, so I had plenty of time to go to the bathroom and then line up according to my finish time. I think the brochure and race map needs to be clearer about the actual start of the race and that runners staying in Folsom will need to board a shuttle bus to get to the start. But why can't the shuttle bus pick runners up in Folsom at 6am instead? Course: The first mile was completely downhill and then from there we had a number of rolling hills, downhills, and flat to the finish after the bridge at mile 22. I thought the mix of gentle rolling hills was nice for the variation. I didn't care for the Ultima drink so I carried Gatorade on a fuel belt. I wish the race organizers would get rid of the horrible tasting Ultima drink, I don't know of any other marathon that uses it. I really enjoyed the mix of rural roads at the beginning and the tree-lined streets in downtown Sacramento. The rest was mostly strip malls and housing developments but that's what you find in Northern CA. I wasn't running for scenery anyway so it didn't matter to me, there were spectators on the course and people were friendly enough shouting encouragement to us but spectators are not a huge motivating factor for me either. Finish: I really liked finishing in front of the State Capital. I was hoping to get a massage afterwards but I didn't find the tent. I liked that there was a changing tent- that was a nice touch and something I haven't seen at other marathons. I think there was a bit of a line at the food area but I didn't take anything to eat as I'm not really hungry after finishing a marathon but I liked getting the chocolate milk, that held me over for a little while. Overall: I would recommend this marathon to anyone who is looking to qualify for Boston or achieve a PR. The point to point and rolling to downhill course is ideal for running fast. The weather was perfect for us this year, averaging in the 50s with a chilly start. Race organization was better than most marathons I've run-plenty of portapotties at the start, nice visible mile markers, and plenty of water stops
Bret Simmons from Reno, NV (12/5/2011) "A great event" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 My first CIM and I'll consider coming back. Organization is very important to me, and this one is extremely well organized. The volunteers at the Expo, start, finish and along the course were first rate. Got my number and goody bag VERY fast at the Expo, which I appreciate. The bus system the day of the race was flawless. We got to the start in plenty of time and you could either wait in the bus or take advantage of one of the HUNDREDS of porta-potties. Bag check was quick and easy and the start was very simple. Great job. The conditions this year were near perfect. Cool and calm for most of the race but a little warm at the end. The course is rolling hills mostly at the start but since I train on hills they were more like speed bumps. Spectator support is sparse. I loved the Ultima at the aid stations. I also picked up GU twice at aid stations. I loved the course. The finish was very well organized. Got my chip off quickly and had my medal and two cartons of chocolate milk in my hands fast. Bag pick up was hard to find because it was behind the crowd of spectators, but it went very fast. Pancakes, bagels, fruit, cookies, and hot soup in the food area - better than I expected. The finisher shirt was excellent, but my only disappointment was since you get it at the Expo, it does not say 'finisher.' Well done, CIM. This event is a winner.
J. G. from Redding, CA (4/23/2011) "Great marathon... water stations need fixing" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 California International Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I loved the marathon. I like that the mile markers are clearly visible. The expo was done very well. Though the course is not nearly as flat as I thought, I still enjoyed the rolling hills and running toward the capitol. Thank you for providing enough porta-potties at the start! Please, please have water and electrolyte replacement drinks on both sides of the road where possible. Also, the tables should be longer, with water consistently provided first or sedond each time. Paper cups, too, please. The food line was too long after the race, so I left without eating. Thanks to all the great volunteers!
S. I. from Sacramento, CA (1/26/2011) "Boring scenery and bored spectators" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 They hype up this marathon so much as being "net" downhill and I guess I didn't expect as many rolling hills as there were. If you are planning to run this, make sure you include hills in your long training runs. I found this to be a very ugly marathon. The only nice scenery along the way was a few minutes through Fair Oaks and then when you get past 20 mile mark or so (when the scenery doesn't really matter anyway!) Also, most of the spectators were at the relay change and were there to cheer on the relay runners. There were a fair number of people watching but very few were cheering. Most looked like they were asleep! I have done Big Sur and Napa before and wanted to try a bigger race with more spectators to cheer me on. I will stick with small, scenic races from now on. Also, the bus got us to the start line about an hour and a half before the race started. There would be more incentive to take a bus from Folsom if it left an hour later! Also, the water stations in the first four miles or so were all out of water and I started to panic that this was going to be the situation all the way through. Also, such a crowd at the end for food that I didn't even attempt it. Anyway, on the positive side... nice expo, although a bit crowded, tons of porta-potties at the start and beautiful weather (I am surprised that a guy from Texas complained that it was too hot and humid!). Glad I did it because I live in the area, but I would NOT do it again.
A. S. from San Francisco, CA (1/4/2011) "some great things, some not-so-great" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 California International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 GREAT: 1) Very well-organized transportation to the start - no waiting in the cold for a bus; 2) There was a perfect ratio of port-a-potties to runners at the start - bravo! (I waited about three minutes as compare to the usual 10-20 minutes. How come other race organizers don't get this?); 3) Great size for a marathon - it has the combined benefits of both large races and small races. GOOD: 1) Neat combination of elites/sub-elites along with recreational runners (from around the country/world, not just regional); 2) Undulating course - not flat - which adds variety; 3) Large number of spectators (though not incredibly enthusiastic). BAD: 1) As in previous years, the aid stations were disorganized - still absolutely no consistency, as others have reported; 2) Rations of food at the finish were meager. ONE VERY BAD THING: Ultima is the WRONG choice for a "sports drink" in a marathon. It has no carbs (and very little sodium, which is a great electrolyte)! What it does have is useless - lots of added vitamins and minerals with no short-term benefit. Carbs are necessary (for most of us) in a 26-mile run. The race directors say that runners can carry their own gels/drinks, etc., but this is a cop-out, and the runners who mistakenly assume that this drink has some sugar or other worth are more likely to suffer in the later stages because of this. Ultima has absolutely NO place in a marathon.

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