California International Marathon Delivers Sub-3:50 Medians and 30% BQ Rates on a Fast December Course

Sacramento's point-to-point route from Folsom to the state capitol drops 333 feet over 26.2 miles, and the numbers bear out what that profile promises: in 2025, the field median came in at 3:43:13, and nearly one in three finishers earned a Boston qualifier. December in Northern California keeps conditions cool and manageable, and the last five editions have consistently rewarded runners who respect the back half.

By the numbers

The field has ranged from 7,470 finishers in 2019 to a peak of 9,182 in 2023, settling at 8,168 in 2025. Across that same span, the overall median has improved from 3:56:55 (2019) to 3:43:13 (2025) — a 13-minute drop at the middle of the pack. Men's medians have moved from 3:46:42 to 3:33:45; women's from 4:11:24 to 3:56:37. The women's share of the field has held steady at roughly 37–40% each year.

How the course runs

CIM is genuinely downhill. The net descent of 333 feet is concentrated in a few sustained drops — most notably a 116-foot descent from miles 15.1 to 21.8 (averaging 0.3% grade), a 101-foot drop from miles 2.2 to 3.8 (1.2%), and an 88-foot plunge from miles 10.7 to 11.2 (3.5%). The rest of the course is essentially flat, and the final miles into downtown Sacramento carry no meaningful grade change.

The 2025 fade curve shows the field running its most controlled opening — the first 5K median segment pace is 8:20/mi, which actually quickens slightly to 8:12/mi through 10K as runners find their rhythm. Pace holds through the half (8:17/mi at mile 13.1), then the back half tells the familiar marathon story: 8:31/mi through 30K, 8:45/mi through 35K, and 8:52/mi through 40K before a modest final-segment lift to 8:35/mi at the finish. The practical lesson: the descent through miles 15–22 is gentle enough that it does not offset late-race fatigue — runners who bank time aggressively early tend to pay for it.

Pacing patterns

Back-half slowdown is a standard feature of mass-participation marathons, and CIM is no exception. In 2025, 63% of finishers ran a positive split, with an average second-half slowdown of 6.3% — the mildest figure in the dataset. Compare that to 2023, when 85% of the field positive-split at an average of 11.8%, or 2019's wet, windy edition where the slowdown reached 12%. The 1,479 negative-splitters in 2025 represent the highest raw count across all provided editions. Conditions clearly matter: the coldest, calmest days have produced the steadiest fields.

The weather question

The 2026 forecast — 38–48°F, mist, wind ~8 mph, 93% humidity — sits closer to 2025's conditions (36–46°F, 86% humidity, 3 mph wind) than to 2024's warmer, drier day (49–59°F, 64% humidity). The 2025 edition produced the fastest field median on record and the lowest positive-split rate. The added wind in 2026 is worth noting — 2022's light rain and 7 mph wind correlated with a 10.8% average slowdown — but the temperature window remains well within the range where CIM has historically run fast.

What it takes

In 2025, breaking 2:50:34 put a runner in the top 10%; 3:11:22 placed them in the top 25%. The BQ rate has climbed from 25.2% in 2019 to 30.2% in 2025 — 2,470 qualifiers last year alone, the highest count in the dataset. Winning times have ranged from 2:07:35 (men, 2024 course record) to 2:13:35 (men, 2019), and 2:24:09 (women, 2025) to 2:29:30 (women, 2019).

What to watch

The BQ rate has now cleared 27% in every edition since 2021, and 2025's 30.2% is the ceiling so far. Whether a cool, misty 2026 morning can match or exceed that figure — despite slightly more wind — is the field-wide story to follow. The men's course record of 2:07:35, set in 2024, and the women's mark of 2:24:28, also from 2024, both stand as benchmarks for the elite field. Finally, the overall median has improved in each successive edition from 2019 through 2025; whether that trend extends to a sixth straight year will say something about who is showing up to race CIM.