Race expects 8,000 marathoners, 4,000 relay runners
Nov. 1, 2011
For immediate release
The California International Marathon has filled to capacity for the third consecutive year, race director John Mansoor announced Tuesday.
The 29th annual race, set for Dec. 4, has reached its caps of 8,000 marathon entrants and 4,000 relay runners (1,000 teams). Another 2,000 runners are expected to participate in the 2.62-mile Kaiser Permanente maraFUNrun for adults and children.
“The popularity obviously of our event continues to increase,” Mansoor said. “As the Boston (Marathon qualifying) standards get tighter, we’re going to see more and more people wanting to run in events like CIM.”
The CIM, founded by the Sacramento Running Association and presented by Kaiser Permanente, has long enjoyed a reputation as a great race to earn a Boston Marathon qualifying time. The 26.2-mile test from Folsom to the state Capitol is slightly downhill, and weather conditions are normally cool enough to help produce fast times.
Another race within the race will be runners seeking Olympic Trials qualifying times. The 2012 U.S. marathon trials are set for Jan. 14 in Houston.
“We’re like the last chance,” Mansoor said.
The CIM has doubled in size since 2005, when it featured 4,000 runners. It ranks as the 14th-largest marathon in the country.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.
SRA beneficiaries include the American River Parkway, youth fitness programs, local running venues and aspiring young runners.