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California International Marathon Runner Comments
Back to California International Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.4 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 4.2
Number of comments: 232 [displaying comments 101 to 111]
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B. S. from Iowa
(12/17/2008)
"Great course, good fans, needs better organization" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 California International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 First CIM. Really enjoyed the course, as it was very scenic. Fan support was excellent, especially the last few miles. Staging area was good, with plenty of porta-potties. Lots of confusion at the start, as most pace group leaders didn't come to the start area until a minute before the gun. On-course, the water stations were plentiful, if a little disorganized. And the plastic cups were horrible. You couldn't squeeze and pour as they'd shatter. The last mile of the course needs barriers, as the fans crowded onto the street barely giving enough room for a runner to get through. Food at the end should be in an area that only runners can access. Too many people to get through to what was a poor selection of recovery food. | |
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Michael Antrim from Loveland, Ohio
(12/16/2008)
"Fast terrific course in a great city...." (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 California International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I would like to say that this was my 37th marathon and 2nd fastest. I missed breaking my PR by 32 seconds due to a miscalculation on my part. The catch to this is that I set my PR at 194 pounds in 1991, when I ran a 3:26:41. Now, 17 years later, I'm at 200 pounds. Yes, 6 pounds heavier, I ran a 3:27:12... and this says a lot about the course. If only I had run around 180-185, the PR was there. I will be back, as Arnold says, as the crowd, the course, the weather, the beautiful State of California and the beautiful people made the race unforgettable. The volunteers did a great job in shouting out the times in addition to the current pace per mile, which made it easy to just run as hard as possible. This is as fast a course as I have ever run. The drop-off could be a bit improved, but other than that, it was on the money in every way.... Thank you to all of the people of Fulsom and Sacramento. I will be back many times to run this race. | |
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E. b. from san diego, ca
(12/15/2008)
"Good Marathon" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 California International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Organized very well. Great, fast course. Runners beware - while there is an elevation difference at the start and finish, the first half has a lot of rolling hills. Only complaint was the food at the end of the race was not good and it should've been in the "Runners Only" area. | |
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M. M. from Daly City
(12/12/2008)
"Another GREAT CIM" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 California International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Thank you to CIM for another great day of racing! I qualified for Boston again and also ran a PR. This is just a great race. I've run numerous other marathons, but this is one I always look forward to running. Thank you and keep up the great work. | |
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C. C. from New York NY
(12/12/2008)
"DAMN!!! This Marathon Rocks!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 California International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The CIM is a nonstop, scenic, breathtaking, roller coaster of an express train, barreling down the tracks from Folsom to Sacramento, treating its 6000 plus passengers like first-class, traveling rock stars. From beginning: easy access from the airport to the hotels, easy walking distance to the expo, easy bus pickup to the start line, all the way to the end: a great finish area with a separate finish line for men and women, accommodating staff to help you claim your luggage, and did I mention one of the most cleverly artistic finishers medals I have ever seen? Perfect weather and a little help from Kevin the 3-hour pace guy made for a great sub 3 PR. This was a memorable trip that will be hard to beat. OK, the only negative is that with so many half and relay runners, a different start time for the marathoners would have helped ease congestion on the course. I was bumping elbows and getting my feet kicked at a 6:47 pace. With that said, I say get on board soon while the gettin's still good. | |
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G. R. from Atlanta, GA
(12/12/2008)
"Awesome!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 California International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This marathon was definitely worth the long hike from Atlanta, GA. I highly recommend this marathon to those of you (serious runners) looking for a no-nonsense marathon and wanting to set a PB. I have one MAJOR suggestion for the organizers. Please extend the length of the hydration stations. The water stations are too short for a field of 6,000+ runners, which results in missed stops and artificial pauses because of all of the bottle-necking that occurs in those areas. Too many runners were flocking the water stops at the same time, and there were not enough volunteers to dispense the cups. Other than that, it was flawless.... | |
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V. R. from San Jose, CA
(12/11/2008)
"Great marathon for PR and BQ" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 3 California International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run this marathon three years in a row. They are the only marathons I have run, and I've had a great experience each time. Improved from 3:53 to 3:32 to 3:28 and qualified for Boston. The pacers are phenomenal, and crowd support fantastic. What's more, about 25% to 30% get a PR or a BQ. | |
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R. B. from Walnut Creek, CA
(12/11/2008)
"A mostly great event!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 California International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 As advertised, this is a fast course (I missed Boston, but a friend made it comfortably), and it is largely well organized, which makes it a positive experience. The expo was good, with enough variety among the vendors to keep things interesting. The finish area was laid out well, which made connecting up after the race easy. The one hiccup this year was with the buses to the start - the buses are supposed to run from downtown Sacramento to the start in Folsom between 5:00 and 6:00. We arrived at 5:30, and the line was a half-hour long. We didn't get on a bus until 6:10, and we didn't arrive to the starting area until 6:52 (for a 7:00 start). I was still getting my sweats off when the gun went off, so I missed stepping off with my pace group. There were many runners behind us in the bus line, so I'm sure they got off quite a bit later. Who needs that stress at the beginning of a race? I understand that last year if you arrived at 5:30 you walked onto a bus, but obviously something was amiss this time. | |
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R. O. from Berkeley, CA
(12/11/2008)
"my favorite, by far!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 California International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is the best marathon I've run by a long shot. It's a real runner's race: tons of really fast and competitive people, great point-to-point course (fast, but the rollers in the first half makes it honest), a wonderful finishing stretch in California's capital city, very well organized, good crowds, perfect weather, nice city, logistically easy, perfectly sized, a city that's proud of this event and its long storied history, and even the shirts are top quality. Dude, what more could you want? | |
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Y. F. from Rockville, MD
(12/10/2008)
"A Fast but Boring Course" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 California International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This course is not as fast and flat as they made it out to be, compared to some really flat ones like Chicago, Richmond or even Philly. There are big downhills - which turned out to be hard on the legs - and some small, rolling hills. The boring course is compounded by heavy fog and dark skies in this time of year. I agree with some comments by others from last year's race: the water stations are random; sometimes water first, then sport drink (which was so diluted it tested awful), and sometimes water second, on the left side or right. The support from locals is great but the organizers only offered transportation to the start without considering how runners can get back to their hotels, which scattered in Sacto 2-5 miles apart (and these are the marathon hotels too): too far to walk (for checking out hotel on the same day), and this is not a city where you just hail a cab. I'd prefer they charge $5-10 more to provide the post-race shuttle back to hotels. The finish area is very nice; other than that, the course is mostly boring with not much to see. The women's long-sleeve shirt was quite stylish, but too thin, with cheap, see-through fabric. Overall, a nicely organized race, but compared to others, I can't rate this run as outstanding. |
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