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California International Marathon

Sacramento, CA · Sun, December 6, 2026 · 07:00 start

The verdict

Prime BQ course.

Forgiving to run · some friction to enter and reach.

CompareRegister
01

How it runs

Course · +637 ft gain · Net downhill, but rollingReconstructed from named climbs
FAIR OAKS RISE
mile 11.16 · +40 ft · 3.72%
StartMile 7Mile 13Mile 20Finish

316 ft net downhill from Folsom to Sacramento, but the drop is not smooth: all six significant climbs land in the first 16.5 miles of rolling foothills. After that the course flattens — nearly 70% of the closing ten miles is flat — which is why disciplined early pacing turns this into a BQ course.

Built from this course's named climbs at their real mile markers; between them the line is interpolated, and the descent is placed using the course's curated shape classification rather than measured. It shows where the hard parts fall and how big they are, and it reproduces the real net change end to end — but it is not a GPX trace.
What this course asks of you
  • rolling 0.1-0.2mi climbs at 3-4% in the first half
  • downhill running to protect the quads
  • flat closing miles at goal pace
Race morning
41→49 °F
Race-morning temperatureRace-morning temperature · Medium confidenceOpen-Meteo historical archive10-year history at the start line, sampled at the race start hour.Checked Jul 17, 2026Where this can be wrong: A normal is not a forecast. Any individual year can sit well outside it — this is the centre of the distribution, not a promise.
25°F90°F

Cooler than 90% of the 39 races we track.

Dew point at the startDew point at the start · Medium confidenceOpen-Meteo historical archive10-year history at the start line, sampled at the race start hour.Checked Jul 17, 2026Where this can be wrong: Same caveat as temperature, and dew point varies more between years than temperature does.
10°F78°F

Drier than 64% of the 39 races we track. Dew point, not humidity — it's what actually caps how fast you can shed heat.

Climbing per mileClimbing per mile · Medium confidenceThe race's published course dataTotal elevation gain divided by 26.2 miles.Checked Jul 17, 2026Where this can be wrong: Total gain only. We don't hold where on the course the climbing falls, so a course with one steep wall and one with constant rollers can share this number.
0 ft160 ft

Flatter than only 23% of the 39 races we track.

Climate: 10-year history · Open-Meteo historical archive, sampled at the start line and start hour. The morning band is climatology plus uniform typical post-dawn warming, not a measured hourly series. Elevation from the race's published course data.

02

Can you qualify here

M 18-34 · 4:00:00

Boston Marathon (BQ)

+54:50
Standard
3:00:00
Your projection
3:54:50
Chance
0%
Realistic cutoff
2:54:34−5:26
Gap to cutoff
+1:00:16
Chance vs cutoff
0%

NYC Marathon Time Qualifier (marathon)

+1:01:50
Standard
2:53:00
Your projection
3:54:50
Chance
0%
03

Training plans for this race

Just Finish Strong

Build the habit, cross the line healthy

No eligible plan for 48 km/wk in 13 weeks.

Solid First Time

Race-ready training, target 4:00–4:30

No eligible plan for 48 km/wk in 13 weeks.

Ambitious BQ Track

Chase a Boston-relevant time, peak volume

No eligible plan for 48 km/wk in 13 weeks.

04

What the California International Marathon really costs

A first marathon costs more than the entry fee — budget the whole weekend before you commit.

Entry fee
Entry fee · Medium confidenceThe organiser's registration pageThe price listed when this race was catalogued.Checked Jul 17, 2026Where this can be wrong: Most races raise the fee in tiers as race day approaches, so this is a floor rather than what you'll pay later.
Travel + 3 hotel nights (est.)
~$920from South Florida
All-in cost against the catalogAll-in cost estimate · Low confidenceMarathon Compass travel modelEntry plus travel and 3 hotel nights, estimated from South Florida.Where this can be wrong: A crude model, not a quote. It assumes one origin — if you don't fly from South Florida the travel half is close to meaningless for you.
$0$2,700

Cheaper than only 26% of the 39 races we price. Entry plus travel and 3 hotel nights, estimated from South Florida.

Register for the California International Marathon →
05

Green Score breakdown

Method →

The original five-axis composite. It's kept for continuity and for the methodology page, but it mixes how hard a race is to run with how hard it is to enter — which is why the four dimensions above lead instead.

8.2/ 10 composite

Travel3.0

Distance and cost of getting there from home.

Terrain8.0

Climb and net gradient — how hard the ground is.

Field8.5

Field size and pacing support on course.

Climate10.0

Typical race-morning heat and dew point.

Logistics10.0

How hard it is to get an entry.

#1 US BQ feeder. Net downhill 366ft - under new 1,500ft BAA penalty threshold. Cool December.

The verdict
Best forPrime BQ course
Course difficultyForgiving
Planning frictionSome friction
Est. course effect+6:27 to +19:37
First-timer score9.0/10

If a Boston qualifier is the goal this cycle, Mesa Marathon is the stronger application on the same fitness — we estimate roughly 14 minutes between the two courses.

Race morning · 10-year history
Start temp
41 °F
Dew point
40 °F
Precipitation
0 mm

Typical race-morning total

Field size
9,000

Official pacers on course

Getting in · getting there
Entryopen · $230
Registration closes—
Trip estimate~$1,150

About the California International Marathon

The California International Marathon is a marathon held in Sacramento, CA on December 6, 2026. With a Green Score of 8.2/10, it's one of the easier, more beginner-friendly US races. The course is net downhill — ~315 ft of drop from start to finish with very little climbing (~24 ft of gain per mile). Typical race-day weather is a cool 41°F, dew point ~40°F (10-year history, Open-Meteo historical archive). It is a Boston-qualifying course. Entry is around $230. Marathon Compass rates every race across terrain, climate, logistics, travel, and field size so you can find the one that fits you — and build a training plan tuned to your fitness.

What the heat costs you at the California International Marathon

A typical race morning here scores 81 on the temperature-plus-dew-point scale our pace engine runs daily (41°F + 40°F, 10-year history (Open-Meteo)) — a 0% pace penalty. Heat should not be a factor at the California International Marathon in a typical year — race your fitness.

100
130
150
81 — typical race morning at the California International Marathon on the temp+dew scale (100 = no penalty · 130 = +2% · 150 = +4.5%)

Method: temp°F + dew°F lookup from the heat-adjustment chart our training plans use daily. Sign in to see this adjustment applied to your own projected finish.

Boston qualification status

Penalty-free Boston qualifierPenalty-free

~315 ft of net descent — meaningful downhill assistance, yet under the BAA's 1,500 ft adjustment threshold. Your clock time is your application time.

Computed under the BAA's downhill rules for the 2027 qualifying window (announced Sept 2025; verified July 2026): net start-to-finish descent of 1,500–2,999 ft adds 5:00, 3,000–5,999 ft adds 10:00, and 6,000 ft or more is not accepted. Net descent here is derived from our course elevation data — the BAA's official course designation controls. Sign in to see your projected finish graded against your age-group standard and the realistic acceptance cutoff.

See how every BQ course ranks in the BQ Course Finder →

Entry strategy

Entry is open — register before it sells out and the decision is made.

  1. Race dayDecember 6, 2026
Official registration →Add these dates to your calendar (.ics)

Where to stay

Point-to-point course: stay near the finish, not the start — you'll be glad at mile 26, and shuttles run to the start. Book a refundable rate now and forget about it; inventory tightens in the final month. The links below are pre-filled for race weekend (December 4, 2026 → December 7, 2026).

Race-weekend hotels on Booking.com →Compare on Expedia →

Some hotel and book links may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. Official registration is never an affiliate.

Next

Plan the day itself.

When to wake up, when the corral closes, and the exact clock time California International Marathon spectators should be at each split for your goal pace — plus a link you can send to whoever's coming to watch.

Build your race-day timeline →
Compare head-to-head

Evidence

Audited 2026-07-17

Every figure on this page, what it came from, and where it can be wrong. Ordered least-trustworthy first — the estimates are the ones worth checking yourself before they cost you money or a race.

FigureSourceCheckedConfidence
All-in cost estimateMarathon Compass travel modelA crude model, not a quote. It assumes one origin — if you don't fly from South Florida the travel half is close to meaningless for you.—Low confidence
Race-morning temperatureOpen-Meteo historical archiveA normal is not a forecast. Any individual year can sit well outside it — this is the centre of the distribution, not a promise.Jul 17, 2026Medium confidence
Dew point at the startOpen-Meteo historical archiveSame caveat as temperature, and dew point varies more between years than temperature does.Jul 17, 2026Medium confidence
Climbing per mileThe race's published course dataTotal gain only. We don't hold where on the course the climbing falls, so a course with one steep wall and one with constant rollers can share this number.Jul 17, 2026Medium confidence
Net gradientThe race's published course dataDrives the BAA downhill adjustment, so an error here changes the Boston verdict. Their official course designation is what actually counts.Jul 17, 2026Medium confidence
Entry feeThe organiser's registration pageMost races raise the fee in tiers as race day approaches, so this is a floor rather than what you'll pay later.Jul 17, 2026Medium confidence
Field sizeThe organiser or published resultsField sizes drift year to year and entries sold are not finishers.Jul 17, 2026Medium confidence
Race dateThe organiser's own siteOrganisers occasionally move a date after announcing it.Jul 17, 2026High confidence

Fees, dates and qualifying rules change often, and we would rather hear it from you than have it sit here wrong — report incorrect information.