CIM will host the men’s and women’s 2022 USATF Marathon Championships on Sunday, Dec. 4, following successful runs in 2017 & 2018

The California International Marathon (CIM) has been selected to host the 2022 U.S. Marathon Championships for men and women by USA Track & Field (USATF), the sport’s national governing body. The championship races will be held in conjunction with CIM’s point-to-point race from Folsom to the state Capitol on Sunday, December 4.

The USATF Marathon Championships are part of the annual USATF Running Circuit, a road series featuring national championships from one mile through the marathon. The series consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded annually in total prize money, including a $100,000 year-end standings prize purse.

“We are honored to have been chosen to host the 2022 USATF Marathon Championships,” said Sacramento Running Association executive director Scott Abbott. “Serving as the USATF Marathon Championships for the third time in the last four conducted national marathon championships further cements CIM as the top performance marathon in the United States. This is in accordance with the Sacramento Running Association’s mission to bring championship running events to our community to feature running as a major part of the local sporting landscape.”

The Sacramento Running Association, organizers of the California International Marathon, will offer a $90,000 total prize purse for the championship fields, including $20,000 first place prizes for the men’s and women’s winners. Additional $3,000 course record and $500 Olympic Trials qualifying bonuses will also be offered.

The USATF Marathon Championships were previously held at CIM in 2017 and 2018 and featured wins by Timothy Richie (2:11:56) and Sara Hall (2:28:10) in 2017, and Brogan Austin (2:12:39) and Emma Bates (2:28:19) in 2018. Between 2017 and 2019 a total of 319 athletes ran 2020 USATF Marathon Olympic Trials qualifying times at CIM, producing the most qualifiers from any marathon worldwide. To further support Olympic hopefuls, $500 Olympic Trials qualifying bonuses will be awarded to American runners who run under the 2024 USATF Marathon Olympic Trials standards of 2:18:00 for men and 2:37:00 for women at the 2022 CIM.

“We are proud that CIM has been long-recognized as a place for top and emerging American marathoners to perform at the highest levels in order to launch, elevate, or capstone their professional marathon careers. With another designation as the USATF Marathon Championships, CIM ’22 projects to be a cornerstone event for American marathoners on the road to Paris 2024,” added Abbott.

For more information about the 2022 USATF Marathon Championships at CIM, visit https://runsra.org/california-international-marathon/awards-elite/