2023 CIM Recap/Rant

On December 3, I completed my third marathon- CIM.
Not that I have a medal or anything to show for it. Well, four blisters.
Ok, maybe I am a little bitter.

Race day did not go according to plan but then I didn’t really have a plan either. Recap down below.

Rant incoming-

This race just made me mad. Race check in was confusing. The line started in the middle of the room but then went off to the side in a weird way. A volunteer snapped at me because I was confused. The volunteers checking me in though were awesomely polite. Then the shirt table was in an odd spot with no real line structure. I was cut in front of twice. I wonder what it was like when it was busier- worse?

The line struggles continued on race morning. There was bus drama and hundreds of runners were still stranded which ended up pushing the start time back. The announcer was boasting the most bathrooms ever for prerace but the organization was nonsensical. Granted, it may not have been as bad farther away from the start but the bathrooms where I was were organized in a U shape. No one knew which line was which or which bathroom they were for, it took forever. I was literally in the portapottie when they started singing the National Anthem. Oops.

The trouble continued once I finished. The nearest water was 2 blocks from the finish line which on a warm day seemed very far. There weren’t snacks left for the runners and the hot food booths had closed down. There were no medals and none of the volunteers knew why. They thought maybe they had run out and the race director would email us. Another race person snapped at a group of us for lingering too long. It hadn’t even been 5 minutes. My brother also said that the water containers had been empty when he had finished and he had run a 2:51:16.

The buses were also gone and the gear check had closed. This race does not like slower runners. The buses and gear check both close at 1:30, for a race that starts at 7 or 7:10 ish like my race day, that math just doesn’t compute. Especially since slower runners don’t usually cross the start until 15-20 minutes after the gun goes off.

The medal confusion continued. The race director later doubled down that medals were only for those who finished under 6 hours. Except I know multiple runners who finished under 6 and did not get a medal. Even my brother had medal confusion 3 hours earlier- he said that when he finished he was told to choose between a backpack and the race medal. I don’t understand how a race that sells out months before race day does not order enough medals.

Also, if it really is time based like the RD stated then where is the consistency? Previous years, slower runners had received medals. If slower times don’t count per the RD, then why are they listed in the “official” results like “official” finishers? I know some people say it’s because they need to reopen the roads but they didn’t. Roads were fully closed and we all got to finish. I never once saw a sweeper or was told I couldn’t finish.

I’ve run races with 4 times as many runners and things were better organized. I’ve also run races with hard cutoffs like Big Sur. There were buses ready at mile 21 ish to pull runners off the course if they couldn’t make the cutoff.

So, CIM- what the hell??

Race Recap-

The course itself is fine, other than people are crazy- it does not feel net downhill. I actually prefer the first half to last half. I liked the rolling hills although I was cursing them at the same time. Plus some of the streets we were running down were picture perfect fall scenes. Pretty much all of the race pictures I took were from the first 13 miles.

The volunteers were amazing and all of the aid stations were well stocked. The cheer stations were on point and still going strong as I ran or hobbled past.

I had a great first 13 miles and was feeling pretty good. I was on track for a 5:45 finish. However there was some, um, “clenching” going on for miles 8-13. Just after mile 12, I ran for an available portapottie. It didn’t help, I only made it another mile before the wheels came off and never came back. It was starting to warm up and I was feeling hot. I overheated, I cursed and I cried. But I kept going. I power walked those next 13 miles and crossed the finish line with a time of 6:11.