California International Marathon
Annual race in the United States held since 1983
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The California International Marathon (CIM) is an annual road marathon (42.195 km (26.219 mi)) held in Northern California since 1983. The net downhill course starts at Folsom Dam and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The race is organized by the Sacramento Running Association.
| California International Marathon | |
|---|---|
Runners at the 2015 CIM | |
| Date | December |
| Location | between Folsom and Sacramento, California, United States |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Marathon |
| Established | 1983 |
| Course records | M: 2:07:35 (2024) Tsegay WeldlibanosF: 2:24:28 (2024) Calli Hauger-Thackery |
| Official site | https://runsra.org/california-international-marathon/ |
With just under 10,000 finishers, it is one of the ten largest marathons in the United States.[1]
History
In 1983, marathoner John Mansoor and entrepreneur Sally Edwards organized the first CIM, anticipating an opportunity to also be an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier.[2] CIM served as the United States National Marathon Championship for men in 1984[3][4] and for women in 1984, 1985, 1989, and 1993.[4][5] It has again served as the USATF National Marathon Championship in 2017, 2018, 2022, 2025, and will again in 2026.
The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2021, 2022, or 2023.[6][7]
The men's course record was held for over 20 years, by American Jerry Lawson (2:10:27, 1993), until it was broken in 2024 by Ethiopia's Tsegay Weldlibanos (2:07.35).
On December 5, 2021, Sara Vaughn broke the women's course record, which had stood for 8 years, with a winning time of 2:26:53.[8] The following year, Paige Stoner broke the record by 51 seconds running the race in a time of 2:26:02.[9]The record was broken again in 2025, by marathon debutant, Molly Born.
Course
| External image | |
|---|---|
 Course map of full marathon in 2015[10] |
The course follows a historic gold miners' round beginning at Folsom Dam, passing through suburban Sacramento, and ending at the State Capitol. The race starts at an elevation of 366 ft (112 m) and finishes at an elevation of 26 ft (7.9 m).[11]
Winners
Key: Course record
| Date | Men's winner | Country | Time | Women's winner | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 4, 1983 | Martti Kiilholma |  Finland |
2:13:35 | Gabriele Anderson |  Switzerland |
2:33:25 |
| December 2, 1984 | Ken Martin |  United States |
2:11:24 | Katy Schilly | United States |
2:32:40 |
| December 8, 1985 | Peter Butler |  Canada |
2:10:56 | Nancy Ditz | United States |
2:31:36 |
| December 7, 1986 | Danny Gonzalez | United States |
2:13:20 | Christa Vahlensieck |  Germany |
2:39:31 |
| December 6, 1987 | Peter Maher | Canada |
2:16:49 | Patti Gray | United States |
2:40:29 |
| December 4, 1988 | Rich McCandless | United States |
2:12:44 | Janis Klecker | United States |
2:34:17 |
| December 3, 1989 | Budd Coates | United States |
2:14:07 | Nan Doak-Davis | United States |
2:33:11 |
| December 2, 1990 | Peter Renner |  New Zealand |
2:12:35 | Janis Klecker | United States |
2:30:42 |
| December 8, 1991 | Bruce Deacon | Canada |
2:15:16 | Sally Eastall |  United Kingdom |
2:29:29 |
| December 6, 1992 | Steve Plasencia | United States |
2:14:14 | Kathleen Bowman | United States |
2:34:20 |
| December 5, 1993 | Jerry Lawson | United States |
2:10:27 | Linda Somers | United States |
2:34:11 |
| December 4, 1994 | Graeme Fell | Canada |
2:16:13 | Jennifer Martin | United States |
2:36:19 |
| December 3, 1995 | Bruce Deacon | Canada |
2:13:59 | Michaela Reger | Germany |
2:32:45 |
| December 8, 1996 | Patrick Muturi |  Kenya |
2:14:19 | Rizoneide Vanderlei |  Brazil |
2:35:46 |
| December 7, 1997 | Abderazzak Haki |  Morocco |
2:16:31 | Grace Chebet | Kenya |
2:40:30 |
| December 6, 1998 | Abderazzak Haki | Morocco |
2:15:04 | Alena Vinnitskaya |  Belarus |
2:32:41 |
| December 5, 1999 | Joe LeMay | United States |
2:13:55 | Nickey Carroll |  Australia |
2:29:21 |
| December 3, 2000 | Elly Rono | Kenya |
2:15:38 | Kristin Schwartz | United States |
2:38:16 |
| December 2, 2001 | Bruce Deacon | Canada |
2:22:12 | Irina Safarova |  Russia |
2:36:36 |
| December 8, 2002 | Elly Rono | Kenya |
2:11:56 | Tatiana Titova | Russia |
2:33:13 |
| December 7, 2003 | Michał Bartoszak |  Poland |
2:16:21 | Tatiana Titova | Russia |
2:33:31 |
| December 5, 2004 | Oleg Bolkhovets | Russia |
2:13:22 | Lyudmyla Pushkina |  Ukraine |
2:37:22 |
| December 4, 2005 | Sergey Fedotov | Russia |
2:18:28 | Yelena Orlova | Russia |
2:37:38 |
| December 3, 2006 | Jonathan Ndambuki | Kenya |
2:14:58 | Alina Gherasim |  Romania |
2:34:23 |
| December 2, 2007 | Laban Moiben | Kenya |
2:14:31 | Wioletta Kryza | Poland |
2:39:20 |
| December 7, 2008 | Halefom Abebe |  Ethiopia |
2:16:42 | Natalia Sokolova | Russia |
2:32:01 |
| December 6, 2009 | Tesfaye Bekele | Ethiopia |
2:13:42 | Bizunesh Deba | Ethiopia |
2:32:17 |
| December 5, 2010 | Dylan Wykes | Canada |
2:12:39 | Bizunesh Deba | Ethiopia |
2:32:13 |
| December 4, 2011 | Erick Monyenye | Kenya |
2:11:50 | Serkalem Biset Abrha | Ethiopia |
2:33:40 |
| December 2, 2012 | Daniel Tapia | United States |
2:16:29 | Alisha Williams | United States |
2:34:57 |
| December 8, 2013 | Weldon Kirui | Kenya |
2:14:32 | Rebecca Wade | United States |
2:30:38 |
| December 7, 2014 | Jacob Chemtai | Kenya |
2:11:55 | Volha Mazuronak | Belarus |
2:27:33 |
| December 6, 2015 | Elisha Barno | Kenya |
2:12:11 | Serkalem Biset Abrha | Ethiopia |
2:31:51 |
| December 4, 2016 | Nelson Oyugi | Kenya |
2:11:41 | Sara Kiptoo | Ethiopia |
2:31:20 |
| December 3, 2017 | Tim Ritchie | United States |
2:11:56 | Sara Hall | United States |
2:28:10 |
| December 2, 2018 | Brogan Austin | United States |
2:12:39 | Emma Bates | United States |
2:28:18 |
| December 8, 2019 | Elisha Barno | Kenya |
2:13:36 | Jane Kibii | Kenya |
2:29:31 |
| 2020 | cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[6] | |||||
| December 5, 2021 | Brendan Gregg | United States |
2:11:21 | Sara Vaughn | United States |
2:26:53 |
| December 4, 2022 | Futsum Zienasellassie | United States |
2:11:01 | Paige Stoner | United States |
2:26:02 |
| December 3, 2023[12] | CJ Albertson | United States |
2:11:09 | Grace Kahura | United States |
2:29:00 |
| December 8, 2024 | Tsegay Weldlibanos |  Eritrea |
2:07:35 | Calli Hauger-Thackery |  Great Britain |
2:24:28 |
| December 7, 2025 | Futsum Zeinasellassie | United States |
2:09:29 | Molly Born | United States |
2:24:09 |