Below are your final race instructions. Please be sure to review all the details below for essential race weekend and race day information! Additional reminders will be posted on runCIM.org and on social media over these final few days. Thank you for choosing the In-Shape Fitness 2-Person CIM Relay and good luck on Sunday!
GREATEST HITS
Though we hope you read this entire email, as this is ALL very important information, here are the most important points that we want you to see:
NEW EXPO LOCATION: California Exposition & State Fair Grounds 1600 Exposition Boulevard Sacramento, CA 95815
You must show your government issued photo ID and QR code, located below, to receive your bib (and, if someone is picking up for you, be sure they have photos of both)
Reminder: No gear check at the start.
For security reasons, runners can NOT be dropped off near the start. All runners must take a bus or shuttle to the start
Leg 1 – Runners can take any of our official race transportation options, your bib is your ticket to ride. Please Review
Leg 2 – Bus transportation will ONLY be available from Pick-Up Location A
LEG 2 – NEW FINISH LAYOUT! Please review the new finish chute layout on our website.
Questions about the greatest hits? Keep reading, the answers are likely below. If not, check the website for…the rest of the story.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 12:00 pm – CIM Expo and Gear Check Drop-off open at the California Exposition & State Fair Grounds (New location this year) 7:00 pm – CIM Expo and Gear Check Drop-off close
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 8:00 am – Official Shake Out Run starting at DOCO 9:00 am – CIM Expo and Gear Check Drop-off open at the California Exposition & State Fair Grounds (New location this year) 5:00 pm – CIM Expo and Gear Check Drop-off close
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 4:00 am – Gear Check opens behind the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center on K Street between 13th and 14th Street 4:30 am – Gear Check closes 4:30 am – Start Line Buses depart from location A 5:00 am – Start Line Buses depart from location B
5:00 – 5:30 am – Start Line Buses depart from locations C and D 5:15 – 6:15 am – Start Line Buses depart location E 7:00 am – Relay Leg 2 Buses leave Location A
7:00 am – Race start 8:00 am – Beer Garden and Finish Festival opens 10:30 am – Hotel Return Buses to Location B, C, and D begin running from Finish 1:30 pm – Finish Line closes 1:45 pm – Hotel Return Buses stop running 2:00 pm – Finish Festival and Gear Check pick-up closes
2025 CIM EVENT PROGRAM
The Sacramento Running Association continually strives to improve our sustainability efforts with all our events. This year we will again have a digital event program in an effort to reduce the amount of paper and waste produced by the California International Marathon. Take a look!
EXPO AND BIB INFORMATION
NEW EXPO LOCATION: California Exposition & State Fair Grounds 1600 Exposition Boulevard Sacramento, CA 95815
Friday, December 5 – 12pm-7pm Saturday, December 6 – 9am-5pm
Parking Enter Cal Expo on Challenge Road (across from Starbucks) at the Blue Gate, Proceed to Lots C and D, Walk through Main Entrance Gate, Buildings A and B
Getting to the Expo Participants are encouraged to use the free parking available in Lots C & D via the Blue Gate, or utilize rideshare services to the Main Entrance Gate. Limited Shuttle buses will also operate continuously throughout expo hours on Friday and Saturday, transporting runners between the Safe Credit Union Convention Center and the CIM Expo (California Exposition and State Fair).
Sutter Health is the official Sports Medicine Partner of the California International Marathon. They are partnering with RaceSafe to create a standard of care and safety for our running community! RaceSafe software provides quick, secure access to our athletes’ health profiles to direct better care. To ensure maximum safety on race day, we strongly recommend that you provide health information to our Sutter Health CIM medical team in advance. This will help the medical team promptly care for you in an emergency. Please follow the link below to complete a brief medical form through RaceSafe. Thank you for helping our team provide our athletes with the best safety and care.
THERE ARE NO GEAR CHECK SERVICES OFFERED AT THE START LINE. Gear check services are available during operating hours at the CIM Expo and at Bus Location A on race morning.
Gear Check Drop Off operating hours at the CIM Expo (Cal Exposition and State Fair Grounds):
Friday, December 5 at the CIM Expo – Between 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 6 at the CIM Expo – Between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday, December 7 at Bus Pick-up Location A, behind the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center on K Street between 13th Street and 14th Street – Between 4:00 am – 4:30 am
Retrieving Gear Bags After the Race in the CIM Finish Area (9th Street):
Sunday, December 7 at the Finish Area – Between 9:30am-2:00pm
Bags will be transported to the finish area for easy pick-up by participants.
SELF-SEEDED START STAGING AREAS– LEG 1
There are multiple entrances to the Start Staging Areas available to runners, sorted by your expected finish time; these are NOT assigned corrals. Please review the self-seeded start corral staging schedule here and on race day line up in the appropriate pace range so you and all of your fellow runners will have a fair start and a chance to perform your best.
EXCHANGE ZONE – LEG 2
Leg 2 runners remain in the holding area until the anticipated time your partner will arrive. There will be a timing mat placed a few hundred feet before the exchange zone that Leg 1 runner will cross indicating they will soon be entering the chute. The announcer will call out the Team Name freeing Leg 2 runner to step into the exchange zone for the Leg Swap. High-five to make the exchange.
Pro-tip – Know your teammate’s approximate pace so you have an idea as to when they might finish the first leg.
Leg 1 runners will have buses available to take them to the marathon finish line.
FUELING AND HYDRATION
Precision Fuel & Hydration is back as the Official Fuel and Hydration Partner of the California International Marathon.To help you nail your fuel and hydration strategy, you’ll find Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and water—in that order—at all 17 aid stations. Plus, you’ll be able to pick up PF 30 Gels, PF 30 Caffeine Gels, and PF 30 Chews from the three Fuel Stations at 6.4, 13.6 and 21.4 miles. Do you still need some last-minute help to dial in your race nutrition plan for CIM? If you haven’t already, use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalized race nutrition strategy for CIM.
Book a Sweat Test – everyone loses a different amount of sodium in their sweat, so there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all hydration strategy. Get a Sweat Test at the Expo to find out exactly how salty your sweat is to help refine your hydration needs.
Head over to the Expo to ask any last-minute questions you have about how to fuel and hydration your marathon, and you’ll be able to pick up the fuel and electrolytes that you want to carry with you from the start of your marathon.
Click HERE for more on-course fueling and hydration information.Be kind to the beautiful neighborhoods we are running through. Please discard your trash in trash cans provided at each aid station and not the ground. If you miss the last can at an aid station, hold on to your trash until the next aid station.
WEATHER FORECAST
The current weather forecast calls for the morning low at the Start Line in Folsom to be in the low 40s, with highs at the Finish Line in Sacramento in the high 50s. Check the weather conditions before you leave your hotel room on race morning. Here are some race day tips that apply regardless of the weather:
Dress in layers! You can always shed unwanted clothing at the start line and the first two aid stations. Look for the volunteers waving the “Throw Me Your Clothes” signs. Do not litter the streets with unwanted clothing as we have designated bins. Clothes shed at the start and on the course will be donated to a non-profit – you will NOT get them back.
Wear your bib on your outermost layer. Timing chips covered by clothing may not work effectively.
SPECTATOR INFORMATION
Click HERE to view the spectator information page-and then send the link to all your adoring fans! This page has information on parking tips, directions to the best spectator locations and the course entertainment list.
The road closure schedule can be viewed by clicking HERE. For up-to-date road closure information and closure avoidance we recommend using the WAZE app who have partnered with the California International Marathon.
Remind your fans to get downtown early and allow ample time to park and enter the finish area in time to see you finish.
The Finish Festival will open to the public at 8:00 am on race day. All Finish Festival attendees are required to pass through one of two designated Security Checkpoints on N Street and 9th or 10th Streets. All bags are subject to inspection by Security Checkpoint staff.
The best place to have your fans watch your finish is from the bleachers on Capitol Mall right next to the finish line at 7th Street. Spectators and runners can reunite after the race at the alphabetical overhead signs in the Official Runner Reunion Zone on the Capital Mall median between 8th and 9th streets.
As you approach the CIM finish, please note the NEW finish approach: all mass marathon and relay leg-2 runners will now follow L Street → left on 8th Street → RIGHT onto Capitol Mall to reach the NEW Mass Finish at 7th & Capitol Mall.
After finishing, you’ll move through the Finisher Controlled Zone to receive your medal, hydration, snacks, and other finisher gifts. You can reunite with family and friends under the overhead alphabetical signs in the Official Runner Reunion Area on the Capital Mall median between 8th and 9th Streets. Gear Check pickup will be located at 9th Street & Capitol Mall.
FINISH FESTIVAL
After exiting the Finisher Controlled Zone and reuniting with family and friends, finishers can head to the finish festival in front of the State Capitol building on 10th Street and redeem their free Baja Fresh burrito and complimentary Firestone Walker beer inside the Post Race Party Zone. This area also includes popular photo ops such as the BQ Bell and 26.2 displays, merchandise at the Fleet Feet & ASICS tent, and a shirt swap station for exchanging your race shirt size if needed.
Also note, the ONLY entrances and exits to the finish festival are from the south on N Street and 9th or 10th Street. There is NO access to enter or exit the finish area from the north and NO access to cross the course along L Street. Plan yours and your spectators’ parking, entrance, and exit plan accordingly.
Runners staying at partner hotels in Point West or Folsom can board return buses on N Street between 9th and 10th from 10:30 a.m.–1:45 p.m., and all rideshare and runner pick-up must occur at Roosevelt Park 2 blocks south of the finish area.
MARATHON FOTO
Smile! MarathonFoto will be there to photograph your accomplishments on race day. Be sure to have your bib visible and keep an eye out for our photographers in the bright colored vests along the course!
To make sure you have the best race day photos please follow these tips:
Make sure your bib is on the outmost layer of clothing
Make sure your bib is on the front of your body
If we can’t see your bib, you won’t see your photos
Having second thoughts about the shirt size you selected? Not a problem! Unworn participant shirts can be swapped at the swap booth, located in the finish area near the merchandise booth, while supplies last.
BEER GARDEN – PRESENTED BY Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Celebrate your finish in a premium beer garden after the race. Beers available will include: 805, Cali Squeeze Blood Orange Hefewiezen and Mind Haze IPA, 8ZERO5 (non-alcoholic).
*Must have a valid ID to enter the beer garden.
FUN EXTRAS
INSPIRE A BREAKTHORUGH
Need an extra push to get through “The Wall” at mile 17?
Send in a special message, quote, or photo to yourself or a loved one and we’ll put it up on the Breakthrough Zone big screen!
These messages will be displayed, at random, to thousands of runners powering through one of the most challenging points of the CIM course.
The California International Marathon and the Sacramento Running Association have an active presence on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. We encourage all of you to engage with us and other runners using your own social media accounts.
Official Twitter Hashtags: #runCIM #CIM40 #road2CIM – use these in all of your tweets and posts
All entrants will receive an email following CIM with special offers from Race partners. Keep an eye out!
Enter for a chance to win a personalized race print from Trackstar
Our official race print provider is giving away a personalized race print and Garmin Forerunner ($440 value). All you have to do is click this link and enter your email at the top of their website. Winner announced the day after the race.
*Must have a valid ID to enter the beer garden.
