Riding the CIM Wave
There are many reasons people run fast at the California International Marathon, but doing so can be trickier than expected. Having obsessed the course for half a decade, and repeatedly run personal bests there, here is my advice for tackling the miles from Folsom into downtown Sacramento.
For many years now the best CIM performances have made fans’ eyes pop - they've seemed almost impossible if they weren’t repeated year after year. Skeptics are incredulous, assuming that the race must be more of a downhill slide than a legitimate road race. While it is a certified Boston and Olympic Trials qualifying course, maximizing your performance requires carefully navigating its rolling terrain.
Yes, it’s net downhill.
And yes the temperature is often ideal.
And the packs of participants form teams of pacing support.
But you still have to cover 26.2 miles.
Flat races are simple: burn the pace as brightly as possible until the finish line.
Extreme downhill courses are an amusing spectacle: crash forward for as long as your quads can stand it.
Racing CIM is like rolling down a river because it is! Moving through the late autumn sunlight along the banks of the American River takes commitment mixed with restraint.
So here we go…
The Start
Once the bus ride is done, the extensive porta-potty line has been visited, and the corral of nerves has been sorted, it’s time to go!
The good news is you get a half-mile downhill to start. The bad news is you immediately have to give some back. Approximately three-quarters of a mile in a hard right turn brings you to the base of an abruptly sharp hill. “Wait what?!” you might wonder. But it’s a quick up and over, and a reminder of the obvious fact that this journey won’t be pain-free.
Like most of the hills of CIM, this first incline is roughly one step up, and two steps down. The course gives you back more than it takes, just as long as you don’t overdo it on each rise.
A few rollers to endure before a gradual multiple-mile downhill from miles 2 to 6. The key is to make a decision and stick with it. Find a pace that feels right. A lane on the road, and someone to run with, and then focus on soothing your mind with an even effort. Aim to make each stride as smooth as possible. Quick splits may come, which is nice, but the key is not burning off valuable mental energy during these easy miles.
Discomfort
Approaching mile 8 a series of rolling suburban uphills arrive just as the mental torment of the marathon appears. Around an hour in, with 18 miles left to run, is a difficult moment to endure. The good news is, if paced correctly you shouldn’t yet feel that much fatigue. Ideally, you’re not even that excited, since what does a successful first 15k of a marathon mean?
Not much.
Try to appreciate the suburban beauty of Fair Oaks, California at mile 10. A few steep declines offer a deep breath. The charming town center provides some emotional fan support, before navigating an annoying uphill that heads back out onto the long mind-numbing stretches ahead. These “blocks” are too long to approach all at once, so break them up. Find waypoints in near view and run to them. Settle into your group, execute your nutrition and hydration plans and set yourself up for the miles ahead.
Getting Real, almost
It’s unlikely any hopeful marathoner can pass halfway without doing some quick mental doubling math, yet resist the urge to already focus on the finish.
Hard left into the rising southern sunlight arrives nearing mile 14. Then at 15, with a tantalizing stretch of road approaching, be warned: many an ambitious marathoner has squeezed the 10k between 15 and 21 only to find their body wrung dry for the race’s final 8k culmination.
Steady.
Find your pack. Measure your effort. Restrain your internal mathematician from pre-calculating splits that you’ve yet to run. Instead, return to your plan. Run your splits. Instead of speeding up, see how easily you can cover these miles while on pace.
Eat according to the schedule you’ve set. Drink when it’s time to.
And find others with which to fortify your mind for the final confrontation.
Bridging to the finale
Marathons contain multiple mental chapters compressed into a few short hours, and although the inflatable arch indicating 20 miles is decorated like bricks to indicate “The Wall,” the true test won’t arrive till 21.6…
Rising uphill to the base of the J Street Bridge archway over the American River your view reveals a slight downhill almost all the way into downtown, potentially enough to overwhelm you.
Do Not Think.
Just get up and over.
Ride the wave, breathe on the back side, and collect yourself as you pass underneath a banner indicating milepost 22.2.
An ominous sign hangs above you reading, “4 Miles To Go!” Though a statement of distance, it might as well end with a question mark because right about here is where your mind ponders the essential question of the whole course:
Why am I here?
What am I running for?
You may be facing four miles of increasing discomfort in pursuit of a new PR. Or pushing in search of earning a BQ. Maybe you began this journey, months ago, by making a set of promises to yourself, your friends, or your family.
Whatever it is, the only guarantee is that, if you’ve run the previous 22 miles correctly, arrival at this sign demands an honest answer, cause these final miles are too difficult to run while bull-shitting yourself.
A straight too long
Avoid the temptation to look far ahead. Even worse, evade the urge to begin counting down the blocks all the way to the capital.
RUN EACH BLOCK.
Do not concern yourself with what’s ahead. Now within the final 10% of the race, surge if you can!
Break free from the peers you called partners the previous miles. Having traveled together long enough, now it’s time to race!
Just past 24 miles is a quick left turn, straight, right turn combination that there isn’t time to question or consider, there is ONLY TIME TO GO!
This is it
Now within the shadows cast by tall urban buildings, cheers ring out, bounce around, and fill your ears from all sides, just as you’re feeling most weak.
Quit thinking.
Return to your cues.
Whether you prefer to focus on driving your knees, tucking your elbows, or flicking your wrists, the common trait successful marathoners shares is their ability to keep their running form together even the pressure of this final stretch threatens to rattle it to pieces.
Count to 50.
Count to 15.
Or even count to 5.
Do whatever you need to sideline your brain since if you’ve made it this far, running this well, it is no longer of use.
The palm frond culmination
Having held your training commitments all fall,
invested in yourself and your dreams for weeks,
and successfully clicked off the miles since Folsom, once you spot the oasis, a row of urban palm trees, the only thing left to do is go all in!
Yes, it hurts.
Sure, you may be about to puke, poop, or pass out, but with only two sharp lefts remaining it’s a shame to cover these final 6 blocks in anything less than a flat-out sprint.
Turning east the state house dome comes into view,
drive your arms,
beg your knees to lift,
and promise yourself whatever is necessary as a reward for finishing these final moments with strength.
And then you’re done
All of a sudden, surrounded by thousands of other shivering running geeks, you’ve lived an emotional life and it’s not yet even noon.
Whether you care to scream, cry, puke, or punch the air, make sure to take this moment to just enjoy - whatever your race result, for today, you are done.
Having descended the net 366 feet downhill, you have successfully ridden the CIM wave, and together you have reached for your highest marathon dreams.
Recap:
1-2 - Rolling - get comfortable
2-8 - Easy, it's downhill
9-14 - Rolling with the rollers, not too hard
15-21 - Not yet, stay smooth
21.6-24 - Run each block by block
24-26.2 - GO!
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