California International Marathon (CIM): Pacing & Race-Day Strategy
Net-downhill and famously fast, a favorite for Boston qualifiers and PRs.
- Where:
- Sacramento, California
- When:
- Sunday, December 6, 2026
- Course:
- Net downhill · point-to-point
- Best run as:
- Even pace
Course & elevation
CIM runs point-to-point from Folsom to the State Capitol with roughly 300+ feet of net drop. The first half is a series of rolling downhills (“the rollers”), and the final 10K flattens out fast. It is a profile built for personal bests, with cool December weather to match.
- Start → Finish
- 392 → 26 ft
- Net
- −366 ft
- Total gain
- ≈ 663 ft
The certified route
Point to point from Folsom Dam down to the State Capitol.
- Start
- Folsom-Auburn Road, 82 ft south of Folsom Dam Road, by telephone pole 062550.
- Finish
- Capitol Mall at 8th St, with separate men’s and women’s lines detailed on the certificate.
Underfoot
Road throughout, on the rolling descent along Fair Oaks Blvd.
Through, in order
Folsom · Orangevale · Fair Oaks · Carmichael · Sacramento
What you pass
- The rollers run from the start to about mile 13; the certificate’s own elevation profile shows them plainly
- The last 10K flattens along J Street into the Capitol
Worth knowing
- The measurer noted running the shortest possible route everywhere except Sunrise Blvd near mile 10.5 and the streets around mile 22.5 — the two places the tangents are hardest to hold.
Transcribed from the USATF certificate for California International Marathon (CIM) (CA18004DT). Where the certificate is silent, so are we.
Key moments
- Mile 1–13Rolling downhills. Let them flow without hammering the descents.
- Mile 22A short rise on the J Street / East Sacramento stretch.
- Mile 23–26.2Flat, fast finish toward the Capitol, where PRs are made.
Pacing strategy
Run the rollers by effort: ease the uphills, stay relaxed on the downhills without pounding your quads. Even pacing here naturally yields a strong finish on the flat final 10K.
Pacing by goal time
Checkpoint splits for four common goals at California International Marathon (CIM). These are effort-even rather than pace-even: the paces shift with the course profile, so climbs are slower and descents faster by the amount the grade actually costs. For any other goal time, use the planner below.
| Checkpoint | Sub-3:00 | Sub-3:30 | Sub-4:00 | Sub-4:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile 3.1 | 20:406:54/mi | 24:078:03/mi | 27:349:12/mi | 31:0110:21/mi |
| Mile 6.2 | 41:196:52/mi | 48:128:01/mi | 55:059:09/mi | 1:01:5810:18/mi |
| Mile 9.3 | 1:01:586:53/mi | 1:12:188:02/mi | 1:22:389:11/mi | 1:32:5710:20/mi |
| Mile 12.4 | 1:22:386:53/mi | 1:36:248:02/mi | 1:50:109:11/mi | 2:03:5610:20/mi |
| Mile 15.5 | 1:43:116:51/mi | 2:00:237:60/mi | 2:17:349:08/mi | 2:34:4610:17/mi |
| Mile 18.6 | 2:03:426:50/mi | 2:24:197:58/mi | 2:44:569:07/mi | 3:05:3310:15/mi |
| Mile 21.7 | 2:24:136:49/mi | 2:48:157:58/mi | 3:12:189:06/mi | 3:36:2010:14/mi |
| Mile 24.9 | 2:44:426:50/mi | 3:12:097:58/mi | 3:39:369:07/mi | 4:07:0310:15/mi |
| Finish | 2:58:296:54/mi | 3:28:148:03/mi | 3:57:599:12/mi | 4:27:4410:21/mi |
Grade adjustment is a model, not a promise. It assumes even effort and ignores wind, heat, and how well your legs handle sustained descent — which on a steep course is often the deciding factor.
Plan your mile splits
Enter your goal time to get a mile-by-mile pacing band for California International Marathon (CIM). The even pace option is pre-selected to suit this course.
| Mile | Pace | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9:09/mi | 9:09 |
| 2 | 9:09/mi | 18:18 |
| 3 | 9:09/mi | 27:28 |
| 4 | 9:09/mi | 36:37 |
| 5 | 9:09/mi | 45:46 |
| 6 | 9:09/mi | 54:55 |
| 7 | 9:09/mi | 1:04:05 |
| 8 | 9:09/mi | 1:13:14 |
| 9 | 9:09/mi | 1:22:23 |
| 10 | 9:09/mi | 1:31:32 |
| 11 | 9:09/mi | 1:40:41 |
| 12 | 9:09/mi | 1:49:51 |
| 13 | 9:09/mi | 1:59:00 |
| 14 | 9:09/mi | 2:08:09 |
| 15 | 9:09/mi | 2:17:18 |
| 16 | 9:09/mi | 2:26:28 |
| 17 | 9:09/mi | 2:35:37 |
| 18 | 9:09/mi | 2:44:46 |
| 19 | 9:09/mi | 2:53:55 |
| 20 | 9:09/mi | 3:03:05 |
| 21 | 9:09/mi | 3:12:14 |
| 22 | 9:09/mi | 3:21:23 |
| 23 | 9:09/mi | 3:30:32 |
| 24 | 9:09/mi | 3:39:41 |
| 25 | 9:09/mi | 3:48:51 |
| 26 | 9:09/mi | 3:58:00 |
| 26.22 | 9:09/mi | 4:00:00 |
Fueling & hydration
Aid stations roughly every 1.5–2 miles with water and sports drink. The downhill rhythm is easy to ride, so keep a disciplined gel schedule and late-race fade won’t cost your goal.
Weather
Early-December Sacramento is cold at the start (often 30s–40s) and can bring fog or rain. Once you’re moving, the temps are ideal for racing.
Race-day logistics
- Start
- 7:00 a.m. sharp — the start line closes at 7:30
- Time limit
- The finish line closes at 1:30 p.m.; the course reopens on a six-hour pace, about 13:44 per mile
- Pacers
- Deep pace-group support, and the race is a well-known Boston qualifying target.
- 17 aid stations, with timing mats every 5K and at halfway — useful if you want split data to review afterwards.
Checked against California International Marathon (CIM)'s published information in July 2026. Caps, start times and cutoffs move year to year — confirm with the organiser before you build a plan around them.
What race morning has actually been like
The last five editions of California International Marathon (CIM), measured at the start line rather than averaged across the month. Starts have run 42–53°F, averaging 46°F.
| Year | Date | Start | Dew pt | Wind | By late morning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Dec 5 | 46°F | 43°F | 1 mph | 47°F |
| 2022 | Dec 4 | 48°F | 46°F | 5 mph | 52°F |
| 2023 | Dec 3 | 53°F | 50°F | 6 mph | 59°F |
| 2024 | Dec 1 | 43°F | 44°F | 6 mph | 53°F |
| 2025 | Dec 7 | 42°F | 43°F | 3 mph | 43°F |
Dates derived from the race's published pattern (1st Sunday in December), observations at Folsom, CA (start). Source: Open-Meteo historical reanalysis (ERA5), 7-11am local at the start line. Reanalysis data is modelled from station observations, so treat it as a close record rather than an official one.
Is California International Marathon (CIM) a good Boston qualifier?
Yes. The course drops 366 ft net, comfortably inside the 1,500 ft threshold where Boston's downhill adjustment begins, so a time here is submitted as run.
This drop is our estimate rather than a figure from the course's certificate. If it sits near a threshold, confirm with the organizer.
Course certification
California International Marathon (CIM) is measured and certified by USA Track & Field. A certified course is a requirement for Boston qualifying, so this is the code that makes a time here count.
- Certification code
- CA18004DT
- Effective
- February 6, 2018
- Expires
- December 31, 2028
This course's certificate is an older scanned document without a data table, so we record the code but not its elevation figures. The elevation shown elsewhere on this page is our own estimate.
Dial in your pacing & fueling
New to how training builds toward a race like this? Start with Anatomy of a Running Plan, find your zones with the pace calculator, and plan race-day nutrition with the fueling calculator.
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