Oct. 24, 2012
Third in a series of the top 30 moments from the California International Marathon’s colorful history. The 30th anniversary race is on Dec. 2. By John Schumacher
Former Casa Roble standout delivers 2:14 effort in 1984
Consider the list of top home-grown male marathoners from the Sacramento area an impressive one.
Rob Anex. Rich Hanna. Dave Chairez. John Mansoor. Ben Ayers. Jim Howard. Mike Van Horn.
Dennis Rinde surpasses them all.
The former Casa Roble High School and Sacramento State runner delivered a performance in the 1984 California International Marathon that set the gold standard for local marathoners.
Rinde finished sixth in 2:14:13, an effort that 28 years later remains the fastest CIM time by a local runner. No one else is within three minutes.
And it was far from a fluke.
Rinde developed into one of the top distance runners in the U.S., finishing seventh in the 1981 Boston Marathon in 2:12:01, winning the Manitoba Marathon seven times and qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 1980, 1984 and 1988.
He returned to the CIM in 1989 with a 2:19:20 performance, the sixth-fastest time run by a local. Rinde won the Masters title in the 2002 CIM in 2:31:32.
Rinde’s efforts have earned him a spot in the Sacramento Running Association’s Hall of Fame. He’s scheduled to be inducted as part of the inaugural class on Jan. 26.
“He was and is the fastest home-grown marathoner from Sacramento,” said Mansoor, the CIM’s race director. “He definitely earned that.”
Rinde ran in several CIMs, noting he enjoyed the 26.2-mile journey from Folsom to the state Capitol.
“I enjoy the (Sacramento) community,” said Rinde, who lives in Davenport near Santa Cruz.
“It was a really competitive running community.
“What I really like about the course is it’s really friendly to runners … You always keep going downhill.”
What does Rinde remember about his 1984 CIM?
“My day went really well that day in terms of time,” he said. “I was actually catching up to one of the of the other guys I used to run against in college, Dan Grimes. I just ran out of (room).”
Rinde, whose brother Dean ranks 10th on the local CIM list with a 2:20:45 effort in 1989, went on to win three World Championships in Ride-and-Tie, a sport that pairs a horse with two runners who cover a set distance alternating running and riding.
The CIM is put on by the Sacramento Running Association, 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 Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon on Oct. 28, The Super Bowl Sunday 10k Run on Feb. 3 and the Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run on April 7.
SRA beneficiaries include the American River Parkway, youth fitness programs, local running venues and aspiring young runners.