SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thousands of runners, and their supporters, are coming to Sacramento this weekend for the California International Marathon, also known as CIM, which is happening Sunday.
Race organizers say runners are coming from all 50 states and even 37 countries this year.
"Last year, we were the fifth largest marathon in the United States. Usually, we're eighth or ninth but not all the marathons participated last year,” said Dr. Steve Polansky, Sacramento Running Association Board Member and retired obstetrician. “But this year, we're the fifth largest and after the big boys: New York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. So for a relatively small town like Sacramento, it's really cool that we've created this beautiful thing."
Polansky means that literally – he has helped organize every CIM since its inception in 1983.
He has successfully finished the race every year, too.
"I'm one of seven that have finished every single CIM,” said Polansky. “I hope to finish this one, too. It gets a little tougher as you get older, to say the least."
Walter Bullock, of Rocklin is a CIM runner and volunteer, who was greeting people at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in downtown Sacramento Friday afternoon as they picked up their race materials.
He has volunteered for CIM every year for a decade, he says — and that's not all.
"I've run 17 CIMs. This will be my 17th CIM and this will be my 136th full marathon in 20 years,” he said.
Polansky says CIM started with 1,300 hundred runners in its inaugural year. Now, it has grown tenfold, with 13,000 registered runners this year.
CIM organizers say one of the reasons it’s so popular is because it’s a relatively fast course. From start to finish, runners actually lose about 366 feet in elevation. Polansky says about a third of the finishers end up with a time that qualifies them for the Boston Marathon.
"I enjoy it, but there are definitely hills and there definitely undulations out there, but it is a good race,” said runner Tiffany Martin.
She is at the CIM Expo this weekend representing the Sacramento Chapter of Black Girls Run.
“We just promote health, wellness in the fight against obesity within the Black community,” she said. “We focus on Black women, but we're open to any and all who support the mission, and it's been exciting.”
Martin said this is Black Girls Run’s first year at the CIM Expo.
“[I] met a woman who's been running CIM for 20 years and said she wished that an organization like this had been present when she was first running because representation is so important, especially in the distance-running zone,” said Martin.
Martin has run CIM several times and ran the New York Marathon this year. Long-distance running has made strides in diversity and inclusion, but she says more needs to change.
"If you think of a broader audience, I think you can have a broader reach and impact,” said Martin of how race organizers can market themselves to more communities.
The author of the book Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us, Alison Mariella Désir, will be at Fleet Feet in Sacramento at 9 a.m. Saturday for a talk, according to Martin who will also be co-moderating the discussion.
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