Elite field includes top female runner and past CIM champion
The Sacramento Running Association today announced it has added an American Performance List bonus to its $50,000 prize purse for the 34th annual California International Marathon.
A $5,000 bonus will be awarded to U.S. athletes whose 2016 California International Marathon time places the athlete in the top 10 of U.S. marathon performers for 2016. A $2,000 bonus will also be awarded to U.S. athletes whose time places the athlete in the top 25.
The CIM elite field has already benefited from the American bonus with entry commitments from top American female runner Stephanie Rothstein Bruce and 2012 CIM winner Daniel Tapia.
Only athletes currently able to represent the U.S. in international competition are eligible. The final U.S. Annual Performers List on All-Athletics.com will be used to determine bonuses and includes drop and point-to-point courses.
The five-year average for making the top 10 list is 2:14:00 for the men and 2:32:51 for the women. The five-year average for making the top 25 list is 2:16:31 for the men and 2:37:31 for the women.
"For many years, CIM has played the role of a launching pad for many American marathoners' careers and we saw our race yield the most US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifiers of any marathon in the world during the last quadrennium," said SRA Executive Director Scott Abbott.
With 32 first-time Olympic Trials qualifiers already under its belt in the first two years of the qualifying window, CIM became the first and only U.S. marathon with over 40 first-time qualifiers setting the mark with 45 after 13 American women ran faster than the 2:43 ‘B’ qualifying standard at last year’s CIM.
"CIM boasts efficient logistics, a forgiving and fast course, depth of competition, and optimal racing weather which leads to it consistently being one of the top performance-oriented marathons in the country," added Abbott.
"It is a great opportunity for top American runners to create as close to a controlled environment as possible for themselves to produce a breakthrough performance.
"We are excited to continue to find ways to encourage, support, and reward top American marathoners that use CIM as their fall marathon attempt."
After upcoming major fall marathons, namely the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the TCS New York City Marathon, the stage will be set for CIM in December to close out the fall marathon season and complete the top U.S. marks for 2016.
"The elite field is shaping up to be one of our bests yet with a number of young up-and-comers and veterans like Stephanie (Rothstein) Bruce on the women's side and returning CIM champion Daniel Tapia on the men's side," said CIM Elite Coordinator Danielle Domenichelli.
Bruce, a 2:29 marathoner from Flagstaff, Ariz., will make her return to the marathon after becoming a mother of two and competing at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials in July.
"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.
"Something in my heart just clicked this summer and having been a spectator at CIM last year I pictured myself running through the streets of Folsom and into downtown Sacramento."
Tapia won the 2012 CIM in 2:16.29 in a breakout performance. He lowered his personal best to 2:14:30 four months later at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
"Winning CIM in 2012 opened the door to run a personal best and top 10 finish at Boston, which then helped me get on the U.S. team for the world championships in Moscow and land my first shoe sponsor," Tapia said.
"I have been wanting to run CIM since the day I won in 2012.
"CIM treated me so well and helped launch my marathon running career."
Local elite runners Brendan Gregg and Lauren Jimison are a part of the elite field and both hope to contend for the overall title at this year’s CIM.
Gregg, a product of Davis High School and Stanford University, ran 2:18:30 in his only marathon in Chicago in 2014. He also qualified for the U.S. Marathon Trials and U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters.
"CIM really provides the best of all worlds. It's a great course to run fast on and it provides a great opportunity to compete at the front of the race," said Gregg.
"That fact that it's more or less in my backyard is a nice bonus, too.
"My goal is to win. I'm looking to keep the CIM title in the region this year."
Jimison, a native of El Dorado Hills, boasts a 2:34:38 personal best set at the Chicago Marathon in 2014.
"The prize purse for CIM this year is really something special," Jimison said.
"I really feel like this only shows the support of the Sacramento community, businesses and organizations.
"We have a supportive hometown."
The Sacramento Running Association has been one of the industry leaders in providing substantial prize money, performance bonuses and travel support for elite runners from all over the world participating in SRA races, including the California International Marathon and the SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run.
Last year, the Sacramento Running Association offered bonuses for U.S. runners achieving the Trials’ standards: $2,500 for an ‘A’ standard and $1,000 for a ‘B’ standard. The SRA awarded $13,000 in bonuses above the traditional prize purse at the 2015 CIM.
The SRA also has a history of supporting elite long distance runners as they pursue Olympic, national, and regional success.
In 2012, the SRA established a training grant for local Sacramento-area runners who were Olympic hopefuls heading into the London Olympic Games. That support resulted in grant recipient Kim Conley making her first Olympic team.
Earlier this year, the SRA awarded nine athletes a total of $15,000 with the Olympic Hopeful grant. First-time U.S. Olympian Kate Grace was one of the grant recipients.
For more information on the CIM’s American Performance List bonus, visit RunSRA.org.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding new ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.
Other SRA events include the Run the Parkway on Nov. 5, the 34th annual California International Marathon on Dec. 4, the Super Sunday Run on Feb. 5, the Credit Union SACTOWN Run on April 2 and the Gold Rush 50k on May 14.
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