Sacramento Running News

By Ellen Moore, SRA

For the elite American runners in this year’s California International Marathon field, there is an added incentive to run fast – a $5,000 incentive to be exact.

The Sacramento Running Association, organizers of the California International Marathon, added an American Performance List bonus to its $50,000 prize purse for the 34th annual CIM on Dec. 4 and the result has been early commitments from many top U.S. runners.

Standout Stephanie Rothstein Bruce and 2012 CIM winner Daniel Tapia were among the first elite athletes to enter the race and headline the deep American fields.

“I chose CIM because the course, the weather in Sacramento in December and the passion of the city can’t be beat,” said Bruce. “The bonus structure that CIM implemented is a great step forward in encouraging Americans to elevate their performance in the marathon and strive for fast times.”

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There is a magic place, up on the top of California, where majestic giant redwoods tip-toe down the hillsides to peek at the Eel River as she lifts her skirts and dances out to the Pacific Ocean.

And every year, Northern California’s finest runners, and a bunch of the rest of us, line up there under the canopy of redwoods for the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon and Half Marathon.

The half marathon is part of the PAUSATF road grand prix, so many of Northern California’s top road racers make the long trek up to the great green north for this out-of-the-way event.

If you make the drive to the Humboldt Marathon and Half Marathon, or its spring-time sister race, the Avenue of the Giants, don’t expect cheering crowds or convenient lodging. But you can expect a fast and scenic run through one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

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For as long as most of us can remember, you could count on a couple of things for about this time of year: the first of the Tule Fog and a long road race in Clarksburg.

The distances have changed a bit over the years (20 mile, 30 Km, etc.) but the Clarksburg Country Run has remained a Valley fixture.

Over those years, race distances have been added and there are now 5K, 10K, half marathon, and 20-mile races. Currently, the most competitive race is the half marathon. It is one of the Pacific Association USATF grand prix events and draws fast runners from throughout Northern California.

Winning the half marathon in a pretty speedy 1:05:40 was Daniel Tapia, 26, who is running for the SRA Elite. About 90-seconds back, also running for SRA Elite, was Kevin Pool, 29, who finished in 1:07:14. Miguel Nuci, 33, finished third in 1:07:31, making it a clean sweep for the SRA Elite men.

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