From Deferrals to Determination: Conquering CIM’s Chilly Hills

Christine Murasaki Ainsworth(MM13525, DA3296, HF17376) – Marathon #78 CIM (California International Marathon) happened on Sunday, 12/7/25.
It was a challenging hilly & chilly race. I’ve been trying to run CIM for several years but something always came up and I ended up deferring.
It reminded me of Boston, a “net downhill” course with lots of rolling hills. It felt “rollier”to me with more descents than Boston. It has a much smaller field with around 9,000 runners compared to Boston’s 32,000.
I stayed near the finish and where the buses to start line picked us up at WTH o’clock. I was there at 3:30 AM and we left at 4:30 AM, got to the start in Folsom and waited until 7 AM. There were free shuttles to and from the expo at the CA state Fair & Exposition. Bib & shirt pick up were a breeze.
The course was all on asphalt roads with the exception of a short section over a bridge in the last few miles. There were ample water & fuel stations and porta-potties.
I joined several pace groups 4:20, then the 4:35 when I fell behind, then the 4:50. They all helped me keep on pace. Running in a pace group is very different for me now that I have double vision and no depth perception. I have to be careful to not stumble into someone or get hit. You rely on each other running the same pace in your “spot.” Not a lot of “lane changing” until you have to work around a bunch of other runners and at water stops.
I slipped ( but didn’t fall…yaaay me) on a water cup at the beginning and had to walk for a few minutes until my ankle felt stable enough to run again.
Sadly around the half way mark, I saw a female runner on rhe ground who was in cardiac arrest and was having CPR administered. I was told she was revived and taken to a hospital. Thank god.
I stayed with the 4:50 pace group until mile 20 when I noticed I was tripping more, and my form was suffering because of pains in my neck ( from my broken neck 2017) and torn hip labrum ( since 2017. I was on target to finish a bit under 5 hours but I knew I had to run solo and finish upright and safe and not worry about tripping and falling like I did at Boston in April or bringing down another runner in my pace group. I finished in 5:02 so I was 18 minutes faster than Every Woman’s Marathon, I ran a few weeks ago. It’s the closest I’ve come to getting back under 5 hours since 2019 when I was consistently running around 4:30-4:35 and almost akways under 4:45. I also ran 16 marathons that year so I got faster and faster then the pandemic happened and all races got cancelled. So my “comeback” is taking time since I’m running with several recent medical challenges (Lymphedema in my left leg plus the vision problems. I’m lucky I can still run.
Many of the runners I met were seeking a BQ time. I knew going in I wouldn’t be able to execute a 9:45 pace for 26.2 miles..but I still lined up and started with the 4:20 group until they left me in the dust minutes later. 😉
Post-race we all received our finisher medal, a nice warm blanket, bottle, and a burrito. 🙂 We received our race shirts at the expo.
I’d recommend CIM even though it was a tough course with lots of rollers. I hope to run it again sometime.

Photo and post credit Christine Murasaki Ainsworth