Local runners celebrate race with free run and movie screening.
The spirit of the Boston Marathon returns to Sacramento in the coming week.
A free fun run offered by the Sacramento Running Association, organizers of the California International Marathon, on Wednesday, April 12 honors and celebrates the Boston race, which began in 1897 and is the world’s oldest annual marathon. It also pays tribute to the three victims who were killed and the more than 260 people who were injured by the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
A 6 p.m. start is planned for the fourth annual event, which starts and finishes at Blue Prynt Restaurant and Bar, 815 11th Street in Sacramento. The run will make two loops around the state Capitol.
The run is part of SRA’s RUNdezvous series that helps bring together the local running community.
“We are excited to bring the local running community together again to celebrate the excitement surrounding the Boston Marathon, and to send off local runners heading to Boston in style,” SRA Executive Director Scott Abbott said.
“The Boston Marathon is one of the world’s iconic sporting events that transcends the boundaries of just the sport of running. Similar to the Super Bowl, The Masters, the Kentucky Derby, and the Indianapolis 500, The Boston Marathon captures the imagination of the entire country every year on Patriot’s Day in Boston.
“Sacramento has one of the most passionate running communities, and our marathon, the CIM, is annually the top Boston Marathon qualifying race in the country, so it is exciting to bring so many people together that share a passion for the sport and this great tradition.”
This year’s Boston Marathon is scheduled for Monday, April 17.
Sacramento-area professional runner Shadrack Biwott is scheduled to attend the send-off event as he prepares to compete in the 121st running of the Boston Marathon.
Biwott, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Kenya, enters the race as one of six American men on the John Hancock Elite U.S. Team. U.S. Olympians Meb Keflezighi, Galen Rupp, Jared Ward and Abdi Abdirahman and Boston native Sean Quigley join him as the top American men in the elite field.
The 32-year old makes his Boston Marathon debut after finishing seventh at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon and fifth at the New York City Marathon with a personal best time of 2:12:01.
“I am excited about my Boston debut,” said Biwott.
“The competition is top notch with all three U.S. Olympic marathoners from 2016 in the field.
“But I am up for the challenge. I have been training with Boston on my mind and will race with hope in my heart.”
The free run is sponsored by Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Blue Prynt.
No registration is required.
The Boston Marathon celebration will continue into next week as “BOSTON, An American Running Story,” the first-ever documentary about the Boston Marathon, will be shown in more than 450 movie theaters across the U.S. on Wednesday, April 19.
The Sacramento Running Association is hosting area runners at the Century 14 Folsom theaters for the special one-night event at 7:30 p.m.
Directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker and marathoner Jon Dunham and produced by Academy Award®-nominee Megan Williams, BOSTON chronicles the world’s greatest marathon from its early years in the 1890s through 2014 and features rarely-seen imagery, interviews with those who’ve played key roles in race history, and brings viewers through the preparations for the 2014 event. The documentary is narrated by Academy Award® winner Matt Damon.
The California International Marathon will receive some recognition in the movie.
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 events include the recently completed Super Sunday Run and Credit Union SACTOWN Run, the Gold Rush 50k on May 13, the inaugural Gold Country Half on June 11, the Capital Cross Challenge on October 7, the Run the Parkway on November 4 and the 35th annual California International Marathon on Dec. 3.
Schedule of Events
Sacramento to Boston Send-Off Event
Wednesday, April 12
6:00 p.m.
Blue Prynt Restaurant and Bar
815 11th Street, Sacramento
121st Boston Marathon
Monday, April 17
Screening of “BOSTON, An American Running Story”
Wednesday, April 19
7:30 p.m.
Century 14 Folsom
261 Iron Point Road, Folsom