Island of Misfit Toys

Photo by Vasily Samoylov

Island of Misfit Toys

Words Jeff Merrill

On Sunday evening following the 41st running of the California International Marathon, Kevin Liao, Elite airport transportation coordinator Reed Breuer and I sat around a table at the eponymous Chinese restaurant opened by immigrant Frank Fat in downtown Sacramento in 1939. Because of the establishment’s proximity to the Capitol Mall, it has served state government officials and the good people of the Capitol for over 80 years. Frank Fat, as the story goes, came to the United States as a ‘paper son’: an immigrant using forged documents and an assumed name linking him as a relative to a US citizen. He did this because at the time of his arrival, the United States had banned immigration from China through the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Prominently displayed in the front entry of the restaurant is a blown up photo of a linen napkin that power brokers Willie Brown and Bill Lockyer used to sketch out a compromise deal on ‘tort reform’ over some perfectly glazed walnut shrimp when they were both state legislators. I had no idea what tort reform was until seeing the negotiations of it showcased like a signed caricature in a Hollywood lounge, but it has something to do with ensuring that the working class has power in civil suits brought against employers for cases such as negligence, particularly when the employer attempts to drive down the damages. Don’t quote me on this.

The conversation around the table in the room just behind the bar settled on a topic that had brought us all together. CIM. All of us had grown up in northern California and had ties to the running community that calls the region spanning from the Sierras to the Central Valley, to The Bay its stomping grounds. Kevin and I had been coming back to Sacramento for the marathon in early December since it first played host to the US Marathon Championships in 2017. Kevin has coordinated press on the weekend- also his line of work in the political sphere. I’ve curated stories around the elite fields assembled. We love doing it.

Ever since those ‘17 US Championships, CIM’s reputation as the place to run fast, have a comfortable debut, and most notably, hit Olympic Trials qualifiers has spread across the land, due in no small part to the results produced by the people who come. In the last 2 Olympic cycles, more runners have secured OTQs at CIM than at New York, Boston and Chicago combined, and it's not even close. In the ‘24 cycle, the score was 112 to 64. The success is achieved without the level of funding of major marathons. CIM is quaint, with a character and charm unique to smaller races, but is also known for being a technically-focused and finely-tuned operation with an emphasis on performance. Because of this, it tends to punch above its weight. It also doesn’t hurt that the weather in Sacramento in early December is routinely 45 degrees, sunny and still. For nearly a decade, it has been the place where overlooked marathoners have come for a shot.

Photo taken from the Sheraton on J Street- the athlete’s hotel.

As the beef medallions, pork fried rice and walnut shrimp made their way around the table, the three of us, who have become well acquainted with the benefits of the race, chewed over the mental exercise of ‘Moneyballing CIM’ on our own metaphorical linen napkin.

In the 2011 film, Jonah Hill’s character tells Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane- General Manager of the Oakland A’s (just a few dozen miles to the west)  - that “people are overlooked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws” and that he believes that “of the 20,000 notable players for [the A’s front office] to consider, there’s a championship team of 25 people that we can afford.”

The question in front of us, posed by the exercise: On the island of misfit toys of distance running, who would be the next to launch their marathon career in Sacramento?

Below are the bios of some notables just before they stepped to the line in Folsom.

2019- Billy, this is Emma Bates. She was a NCAA champion in the 10,000m. She went to Boston for 3 years and kind of went dark. She recently moved back to Idaho to train. Before this year, she had a half marathon PR of 1:15.

Bates would go on to run 2:28:19 and win CIM in her marathon debut.

2019- Billy, this is CJ Albertson. He was never an All American during his time at ASU. He’s won two marathons, but they were in Modesto and Fresno. He rarely leaves Fresno.

Albertson would place 2nd at CIM, running 2:13:40.

2021- Billy, this is Sara Vaughn. She’s placed 3rd 3 times at US Championships. She made a world team and competed for Team USA in London in 2017. But it was all in the 1500m. She’s never run a race longer than 5k, and her PR is 15:51.

Sara Vaughn won CIM, running a course record of 2:26:53. She ran her second half in 72 minutes.

We came up with a solid list of names, but the whole concept of moneyballing is actually counter to the approach of the people who operate CIM. They haven’t been moneyballing the marathon per se, actively seeking out the types of runners who might make the leap to the world stage, they have just been cultivating the environment to attract these determined individuals.

The common denominator for the cases above and many more is that they wanted to run CIM for reasons that were well-considered and race-focused. In poring over the marathon calendar, studying the offerings, the scheduling and the accommodations, they kept coming back to the benefits of CIM and wound up circling it. This has happened increasingly year over year. Eventually, it’s not just that the benefits of the Walnut Shrimp appear to outweigh the other dishes, the results of these benefits coalesce into a reputation, and it is sought out by name, no menu needed.

2024 Champion Tsegay Tuemay Weldlibanos. Photo by Vasily Samoylov

There are now 7 World Majors, in New York, Boston, Chicago, Tokyo, London, Berlin and Sydney, and there are destination races in lavish places like Paris, Copenhagen and Valencia. At the cocktail party of marathons, CIM may not be the most alluring- it isn’t the one partygoers gawk at as it glides across the room. But CIM is arguably the most approachable. It’s the good-natured buddy you’ll find at the tower of shrimp, loading some onto your plate with a smile so you don’t feel bad about taking a big ‘ol helping. Heck, CIM might even shovel some brie into your purse to make sure you have a snack for cab ride home.

Among the litany of factors you’ll hear from self-help guru bros on youtube that recite them firm-browed into their ring light webcams, It’s an undervalued attribute to care. I mean to really care. Most people assume that when someone is doing a job or a task or a favor, that they care about it, at least enough to get the thing done, but there’s a difference in the quality of the product when the meaning runs a little deeper, and particularly when the people you are working for mean something to you.

CIM is successful because it is a well-run organization that cares. The people that come to race in the event mean something to the people in the organization and they are invested in their success, even if the investment doesn’t generate big news. The people that work CIM either focus on it year-round, or come back year after year to do specific jobs, knowing that the success of their contributions elevates the whole. They also have sentimental ties to the race and what it means as a fixture atop the region’s running culture.

Danielle Domenichelli is the Elite Coordinator for the race and has been since at least 2017. She grew up in the Sacramento area and ran at Oak Ridge High School in the foothills just east of Sacramento. Scott Abbott, the Sacramento Running Association’s Executive Director ran for legendary Jesuit of Carmichael Cross Country coach, Walt Lange. Abbott’s son now runs for Lange and both Abbotts can say they contributed California State XC titles to the program’s legacy. It’s part of the running fabric of Sacramento.

When heads of other running events from around the country come to CIM either to run, to coach or to spectate, it is common for them to remark amongst confidantes: “That’s a well run event.”

Eli Asch, who served as Director of Race Operations form 2014 to 2020 paraphrased Coach Jimmy McGinty in the 2000 film The Replacements : “Every large scale event is like a duck in water, floating seemingly effortlessly on the surface, but when you look below, its legs are churning furiously to stay afloat … I think in the best run events, the circle of people that see [and do] the furious paddling is relatively small.”

Many start-up events get in over their heads because they want to do all the flashy, fun, eye-catching things, but you can't do that until you've built a solid functional foundation of the technical, operational aspects (non sexy things). Even then, the people at the center wind up taking on the non sexy things because it means the most to them to make sure everything is running smoothly. You then bring in others to do the flashy, fun things. And even then, it is the job of the people at the center of the circle to ensure that the flashy, fun and eye-catching things are not just done for the sake of catching eyes, but tie in to the ethos of the event. Hired hands like Kevin Liao and I get to come in and do the fun stuff. Danielle, Scott and Director of Operations Jenny Matchell keep the lights on.

2024 Champion Calli Hauger-Thackery. Photo by Vasily Samoylov

It’s difficult to find these types of institutions out in the world. I often think that the most well-run organization is a candy factory somewhere in rural Iowa, one that focuses on craft and process and quality and a long-term vision and has a particularly efficient way of folding the wrapping at the edges of the chocolate bars. These things run counter to the instant gratification mindset of today. We want success now. We want to do one thing that catapults us into the headlines, and then reap all the benefits, sustainability be damned. The key to the success of the gems with a steady, long-term approach, however, is defining what success means to them. Oftentimes it is put as: process over result, or a thousand little results added up. Breaking down every little piece of a process in order to understand its purpose and then to do it right. We can’t possibly know how tickled it made the candyman feel when he discovered the folding technique. When you want to do it right at every juncture, success becomes an internalized goal rather than external validation, and comparison vanishes because your particular set of goals is unique. The detailed improvements and little innovations come with more regularity when this approach is tied with caring. Great innovation and great service occur when you care about the people you are innovating for and the people you are serving. When their problems become your problems and their dreams become your dreams.

It is common when discussing CIM to point out the over half mile of porta-potties disappearing into the distance behind the starting line. Charlie Brenneman, a 2:26 CIM runner and member of the SRA team takes great pride in coordinating the individual bottle stations (7 along the course) for each of the 200 runners who make up the elite field, sharing linked excel sheets with intricate formulas to each of his assistants.

At 5am on the morning of the race, when the shuttles drive from the Sheraton on J Street downtown in the darkness to the starting line in Folsom, they drop off all 200 elite competitors at a boat store lit up with Christmas lights 200m from the start. Here, the space is heated, with chairs and stretching room for all. There are 2 dozen fresh porta-potties outside that are just for the elites. They can stay in the warmth and duck out to do strides right up until 10 minutes before the gun goes off. They place their sweats in plastic bags with their names on them. The bags will meet them at the Sutter Club next to the finish line, where they’ll dine on crispy bacon and sip coffee in high-backed leather-upholstered chairs under the same vaulted ceilings where the movers and shakers who built the state’s capitol once smoked their pipes and dreamt of a purple beam that would reach the stratosphere when their home basketball team won a game.

Success for the people who operate CIM is looking after every individual’s race, to make sure they have the best opportunity to hit their goal. Sometimes bigger names show up that move the needle for a broader audience, names like Calli Hauger-Thackery, who won in a course record of 2:24:28 this year, or Sara Hall, who won in 2017, but the thing that CIM has become known for is the incredible depth generated by all the individual journeys added up together. The tip of the arrowhead might not be as sharp, but the wings of it are broader than any race outside of Japan.

There’s no specific mold of person who succeeds at CIM. Everyone is different. All of them, save for 1 or 2 each year, wouldn't garner appearance fees at a World Major. There are former division I All Americans who went to work at accounting firms and let months of not running turn into years until they came back to it. There are former DIII runners who stacked miles for a decade improving steadily. There are school teachers who fell in love with the hobby long after their peers had finished their college careers. What they have in common is that they want to be there, in the race and it means something for them to barrel down Fair Oaks Blvd feeding off the energy of thousands of people who want to be there as well. It’s an underdog organization for underdog runners, and it has a reputation of being the last juncture before an underdog becomes a contender.

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Heading into this year, I thought that the depth might not be quite as astonishing as in year’s past, because the Olympic Trials Qualifying window for 2028 had not yet opened ( it may not be open for next year’s race either). I thought runners normally on the cusp of qualifying might choose to run other races in more exotic locations, with more difficult courses, like NYC. I’m sure many did, but that didn’t put a damper on the results for CIM.

27 men ran under the 2024 Olympic Trials Qualifier of 2:18, and 22 women ran under the 2024 OTQ of 2:37. In 2022, the deepest race on record, 42 men ran under and 44 women. The top 10, however, on the men’s side was the fastest from top to bottom than any in the race’s history, a collective 5:37 faster than the top 10 from 2022.

Full results HERE

Prizes

Weldlibanos $15,000 + $5,000 course record bonus

Albertson $10,000

Hauger $8,000

Miranda $5,000

Smith $4,000

Martinez $3,000

Cowart $2,000

Nilsson $1,500

Linden $1,000

Bowman $500

Prizes

Hauger-Thackery $15,000 + $5,000 course record bonus

Gaughan $10,000

Bruce $8,000

Tuxbury $5,000

Heffernan $4,000

Feivor $3,000

Hebner $2,000

Poe $1,500

Hyland $1,000

Gracey $500

Both course records were broken, and both by the 1st and 2nd finishers in each of the men’s and women’s races. The women’s record, formerly held by Paige (Stoner) Wood (2:26:02), winner of the 2022 US Championships, was smashed by 1 minute and 34 seconds by Great Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery. The men’s record of 2:10:27, which had stood for 31 years, held by Jerry Lawson was obliterated by Tsegay Tuemay Weldlibanos, who tore nearly 3 minutes from it, running 2:07:35. Weldlibanos was paced through 14 miles by his McKirdy Trained teammate, John Raneri before he glided away, negative splitting the course, running his second half in 1:03:33. Weldlibanos is an incredible story, an asylum athlete originally from Eritrea who often trains between the hours of 1am and 3am to balance his job as a food delivery driver.

Jackie Gaughan (pronounced ‘Gone’), who placed second in the women’s race (under the previous course record) negative split her race, running 1:10:21 for her second half. From 35k to 40k, she ran 16:10 for 5k. That’s ~18 seconds slower than her track 5000m PR and 10 seconds faster than her 5k road PR. Jackie will be the name from this race to keep an eye on as an emerging star on the American scene. Her half marathon PR of 70:01, set in Houston earlier this year places her 9th on the 2024 American list. She ran 20 seconds slower than that for the second half of her marathon in Sacramento.

Steph Bruce placed third, and broke the Master’s course record, running 2:28:41, the third fastest marathon of her career- at the age of 40. Bruce’s time would have won the race in 36 out of the 41 years of the race’s history and puts her 11th all time on the course.

CJ Albertson placed second to Weldlibanos under the 31 year old course record. He has come top 3 at CIM 3 times, now achieving all steps of the podium. CIM marked his 5th marathon in 2024 and 7th in just over 53 weeks, of which his slowest time was 2:11:09 coming in his victory at CIM last year.