Learn from a professional CIM failure
9x CIM finisher. 3x CIM BQ'er. 1x CIM sub-3. Plenty of sad CIM tears before the happy ones.
You may be faster than me. You're probably smarter than me (not hard to do). You might know more about running than I've learned in over 17 years of doing it.
But there's one thing I know better than 99.9% of runners: how to run the California International Marathon.
Three misses, then a breakthrough
I failed to hit my Boston-qualifying goal at CIM three times before I finally got my first BQ at the 2019 race. Failing is learning, and I've learned a lot from the hard days out on that course.
Before that first BQ, my marathon time had stalled around 3:20. Then I sat down and broke the course into pieces: where I was making mistakes, where I was losing time, and where the course would actually give time back. Planning my race around those weak points took me to a 3:02. That's roughly a 10% improvement, and it came from course knowledge, not just fitness.
2021 CIM
Sub-2:59, negative split
In December 2021 I ran the plan exactly: patient through the rollers, pushing from halfway, holding on over The Bridge. I negative split my way under 2:59. Here's how many runners I passed along the way:
+41
Runners passed while staying patient late in the rollers.
+111
Pushing the pace on the gentle descent after halfway.
+111
Over The Bridge and flat to downtown, while others paid for going out too hard.
Plus 8 more from 40K to the finish. I'm not bragging. The strategy just works, and runners of every level can use it.
Why this site exists
Most CIM advice stops at "it's net downhill." That's true, and it's misleading. Everything here comes from nine trips from Folsom to the Capitol, including the bad ones, so you can skip a few of the mistakes I made.
Off the CIM course, I'm a sub-3 marathoner and an Ironman finisher. I'm not the fastest out there, but I always get to the finish line, and I love helping other runners feel what it's like to reach a goal they've been chasing.
Questions about CIM? DM me on Instagram @daviddamron.