California International Marathon elevation profile: 45 m gain and 107 m loss over 42.195 km, with segment pacing, fueling notes, and race tips.
CIM is known as one of the fastest courses in America, featuring a net downhill profile from Folsom to Sacramento. Popular for Boston qualifying attempts and PRs.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Sacramento, California, USA |
| Distance | 42.195 km |
| Elevation gain | 45 m (148 ft) |
| Elevation loss | 107 m (351 ft) |
| Start / finish elevation | 115 m / 8 m |
| Official site | https://runsra.org/california-international-marathon/ |
CIM's net downhill is a gift, but you must respect it. Don't go out too fast in the first half - the quads-destroying downhill can catch up to you.
| Miles | Terrain | Advice |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Gradual downhill | Rolling start in Folsom. Resist going fast. Save your quads. |
| 6-12 | Gradual downhill | Steady descent. This is where people blow up by going too fast. |
| 13-18 | Flattening | Course flattens as you approach Sacramento. Assess your legs. |
| 19-23 | Mostly flat | Through Sacramento neighborhoods. The downhill advantage is over. |
| 24-26 | Flat finish | Finish at the State Capitol. If you ran smart, you'll PR here. |
The downhill profile changes muscle recruitment - quads take a beating. Standard fueling works but your legs may tire differently than a flat course.
Yes! CIM is one of the most popular BQ courses. The net downhill (107m drop), December weather, and large pace groups make it ideal for qualifying attempts.
CIM has a net elevation drop of 107m (340ft) from Folsom to Sacramento. It's gradual enough to not destroy your quads if you run smart.
Yes. Many runners go out too fast on the downhill start and pay for it in the second half. Run even effort, not even pace, especially in miles 1-12.
December in Sacramento is usually cool: 4-12°C (40-54°F). Can be foggy at the start. Generally excellent marathon conditions.
Every public page on this site has a Markdown mirror at the same path with a .md suffix (for example /calculator.md), and honors an Accept: text/markdown request header on the HTML URL. The calculations here are also available as callable tools through a free public MCP server — no account or API key.