New security measures, sustainability efforts, growing tourism and fundraising initiatives produce a positive impact on the Sacramento Community
The 36th annual California International Marathon, organized by the Sacramento Running Association, is primed to leave a profound mark on the Sacramento community. CIM stands out amongst local sporting events by bringing together local agencies and partners for a safe, sustainable, and impactful event.
A record-setting field of 13,000 marathoners is registered to take on the 26.2-mile course from Folsom to the state Capitol on Sunday, Dec. 2. Another 3,500 runners are entered in the CIM Relay Challenge, with over 4,000 more participants registered for the Dec. 1 inaugural Capitol 5k and UC Davis Children’s Hospital maraFUNrun 5k, bringing race weekend totals to over 20,000 participants.
A crowd of 75,000 spectators is expected to line the course running through Folsom, Orangevale, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Carmichael and Sacramento. Another 4,000 volunteers are scheduled to assist operations throughout the weekend’s events.
Safety Measures
To ensure CIM is safe for all, race officials have created a Public Safety Committee, which brings together 10 local public safety organizations and agencies from across the Sacramento region.
The committee has implemented new and innovative security procedures, some of which include adding security checkpoints, increasing on-course security personnel and establishing a Unified Command structure that ensures independent agencies effectively work and communicate together to assure a safe event.
“The California International Marathon is the standard bearer in the region when it comes to public safety for multi-jurisdictional outdoor events,” said CIM Public Safety Consultant Arnel Aquino.
“A weekend full of events culminating with a marathon that starts at the Folsom Dam, runs through many different municipalities and neighborhoods, and ultimately finishes at the State Capitol requires a very dynamic public safety plan.
“We spend many months working on extensive and systematic event security, emergency management, and public safety plans in cooperation with over a dozen public safety organizations and agencies.
“We are grateful to have so many people invested in executing a safe and secure event that is a source of civic pride for our community.”
Sustainability Efforts
Last year, the California International Marathon strived to become a certified sustainable event by the Council for Responsible Sport (CRS).
The Sacramento Running Association and California International Marathon surpassed expectations by achieving Gold Level certification in 2017, which will stand until being re-evaluated in 2019.
The 2017 CIM earned credits under every criteria, highlighted by their success in diverting over 75% of the event waste from the landfill, supporting local non-profits like the American River Parkway Foundation and donating $50,000 to community non-profits involved in race weekend.
“As an event producer and host, the Sacramento Running Association has proven its understanding that continual improvement towards greater sustainability is a fundamental aspect of overall planetary, societal and even community-level health,” said Shelley Villalobos, Managing Director, Council for Responsible Sport.
“This is a thriving example of an organization doing well while doing good,” added Villalobos.
Economic Impact and Fundraising Initiatives
CIM runners are expected to fill over 9,000 hotel room nights and add an estimated $11 million economic impact on the Sacramento region at a time of year when local business typically slows.
In addition to the impact on local hotels, restaurants and retailers, the race, through the work of the Sacramento Running Association, raises over $500,000 for local charities and community organizations through leveraged fundraising and direct giving every year.
CIM’s charity registration entries also directly fund SRA donations of over $50,000 annually to official partner charities including chief beneficiary UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
“UC Davis Children’s Hospital is proud to be the chief beneficiary of the California International Marathon and receive such generous support from the Sacramento Running Association,” said Brad Simmons, interim CEO of UC Davis Medical Center.
“Funds raised will help sick and injured children in the Sacramento community and the 33 counties that we serve.”
For the 2018 edition, the CIM, through a combined effort with race partners, will also help provide direct aid to Camp Fire relief programs for rebuilding the nearby affected Butte County communities. The SRA is encouraging runners to donate to the Golden Valley Bank Community Foundation through official race sponsor and Chico, Calif. based Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.
“The Sacramento Running Association is proud that CIM is a nationally-recognized running event, but we’re equally proud of the positive impact that CIM has in our community,” said CIM Race Director Eli Asch.
“Whether it’s by donating tens of thousands of dollars to local non-profits and community organizations that support our event, partnering with Goodwill to collect over 3,000 articles of clothing on race day and donate them to the local homeless, or diverting over 13,000 pounds of race day waste from the landfill, the SRA is always looking for opportunities to use CIM’s unique platform to make the Sacramento-area a better place to live, work, and play.”
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.
Other SRA events include the recently concluded Run the Parkway, the Super Sunday Run on Feb. 3, 2019, the Credit Union SACTOWN Run on April 7, 2019, the Gold Country Half on May 19, 2019, the Capital Cross Challenge on September 29, 2019 and the Youth XC Series in October.