CIM 2026 Fueling Guide: California International Marathon Aid Stations, Gels, and a Plan for Every Finish Time

CIM is a point-to-point course from Folsom to Sacramento with a net drop, a December start, and a reputation as one of the best Boston qualifiers in the country. It is also one of the easiest marathons to fuel well: 17 aid stations, a course drink with real carbohydrate in it, and gels at three stops. The hard part is the morning. You board a bus in the dark, and the rolling first half makes it easy to go out too fast and forget the plan.

This guide starts with what the Sacramento Running Association has published for this year, shows when you will reach each station and fuel stop at your pace, and gives three plans: for runners racing it, for the steady middle of the field, and for long-day runners. Check the course page again in race week.

CIM 2026: The Confirmed Race Facts

This edition also hosts the USATF Marathon Championships, and every entry tier sold out. The organizers call CIM the top Boston qualifier, with a qualifying rate over 32 percent. That means a crowded field full of runners on the same goal pace, which makes it easy to follow the pack straight past a planned gel.

What Is on the CIM Course

CIM is one of the few big marathons where the course drink is a real source of carbohydrate. The Precision Hydration mix has 30 g of carbohydrate and 500 mg of sodium per 500 ml. The 8 oz cups are filled with about 5 oz, roughly 150 ml, so a cup you finish gives you about 9 g of carbohydrate and 150 mg of sodium. Take a cup at every second station and swallow most of it, and you add roughly 50 to 70 g of carbohydrate over the race.

The PF 30 gels have 30 g of carbohydrate each; take them with water. The caffeinated version has 100 mg of caffeine. The fuel stops are about 7 miles apart, so they can replace some of the gels you carry, but not all of them.

When You Will Reach Each Station at Your Pace

Elapsed time from the gun at an even pace. The downhill start and the rolling first half make most runners a little fast early and a little slower late, so treat these as a guide. Note how early the first fuel stop comes: at about 45 minutes to an hour for most runners.

Pick Your Plan: Three Runner Profiles

World Athletics’ consensus statement gives 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour as the common marathon range and suggests trained runners try up to 90 g per hour for races over two and a half hours. At CIM the course drink and the fuel stops can cover a good share of that, which means fewer packets in your belt.

Racing it: at 80 g per hour, a 3:00 race needs about 240 g of carbohydrate. A realistic split is about 60 g from the course drink over eight cups, one or two fuel-stop gels, and five or six carried gels. Take the first gel at about 20 minutes on the downhill opening miles and use the fuel stop at 6.4 as your second dose. The pack will be thick there, and the gels are only on the right side, so move over early.

Steady marathon: at 60 to 75 g per hour, a 4:00 runner needs 240 to 300 g. The course can cover a lot of it: the three fuel-stop gels give 90 g and a cup of drink at every second station adds about 50 to 70 g. That leaves four or five carried gels. One simple plan: a carried gel at 30 minutes, the fuel stop at mile 6.4 (about 59 minutes), a carried gel at about 1:30, the fuel stop at 13.6 (about 2:04), a carried gel at about 2:35, the fuel stop at 21.4 (about 3:16), and a last carried gel around mile 23.

Long day: for a 4:30 to 6:00 finish, aim for 40 to 60 g per hour. The course drink is your friend: a cup at most stations adds up to 100 g or more over the race if you swallow most of it. Add chews or half gels every 20 to 30 minutes, and take a gel or half a banana at each fuel stop. Keep an eye on the pace car. It moves at about 13:44 per mile, which is almost exactly a six-hour finish, so a runner aiming near six hours has no time to spare at the stations.

Caffeine, Sodium, and the Pack

• Caffeine: the PF 30 Caffeine Gel has 100 mg. The ISSN supports 3 to 6 mg per kg about 60 minutes before exercise; many runners take coffee before the bus and one caffeinated gel after halfway. Count them together.
• Sodium: the course drink has 500 mg per 500 ml, about 150 mg per cup. In mild December weather most runners need little more; heavy, salty sweaters can add a tested salt product.
• The pack: CIM is full of runners chasing the same qualifying time. Set a watch alert for each gel so the group does not decide for you.
• Bananas: half a banana is about 13 g of carbohydrate. Easy for long-day runners, slow to eat at race pace.

Hydration for a December Morning

Early December in Sacramento is cool. The normal temperature at 7:00 a.m. is about 6 °C (42 °F), rising to about 9 °C (49 °F) at 10:00 and 12 °C (54 °F) at noon, and the coldest CIM start on record was below −1 °C (30 °F). Most runners need less fluid than in training. World Athletics warns against drinking more than you sweat, and finishing heavier than you started is a sign of overdrinking.

• Test your sweat rate in a cool long run before race week.
• Vests, belts, and handhelds are allowed, and water refill is available at most stations.
• There is no gear check at the start. Wear throwaway layers; they are donated.
• Seek help for confusion, severe headache, repeated vomiting, or collapse, whatever the clock says.

Breakfast Before the Buses

You cannot drive to the start. The last buses leave the Convention Center by 4:30 a.m., Point West by 5:00 a.m., and Folsom between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m., and the Granite Bay shuttle runs from 5:15 to 6:15 a.m. That splits breakfast in two.

• Before the bus, around 3:30 to 4:30 a.m.: a practiced breakfast of about 1.5 to 2 g carbohydrate per kg, such as a bagel with jam, a banana, and a sports drink.
• At the start, 60 to 90 minutes before 7:00: a small top-up you carried, such as half a bagel, a bar, or a banana. The race does not list food at the start, so bring your own.
• Ten to fifteen minutes before the gun: an optional gel with water, only if used in training.
• Coffee: your usual dose before the bus; bring a caffeinated gel if you want more later.
• There is no gear check at the start, so bring only what you will eat or throw away.

Course Tactics: Where CIM Breaks Fueling Plans

• Miles 0 to 3, Folsom: downhill and crowded, the easiest place to bank time you will pay for later. Take your first gel at about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Miles 3 to 13, the Fair Oaks rollers: the hilliest part of the course, with stations at 4.2, 6.4 (fuel stop, right side), 8.5, 10, and 12. Take gels before the climbs, not on them.
• Mile 13.6, Sutter and Fair Oaks Boulevard: the second fuel stop, at about halfway.
• Miles 14 to 21, Fair Oaks Boulevard into Carmichael: gentler, with stations every mile or two. The plan runs itself here if you follow your watch.
• Mile 21.4, Howe Avenue: the last fuel stop, just before the H Street Bridge over the American River.
• Miles 22 to 26.2, East Sacramento and Midtown: flat and fast. Last carbohydrate by about mile 23.5, then water and course drink only.

The Long-Run Rehearsal That Makes the Plan Real

Use at least two long runs as full simulations. Wake at bus time, eat breakfast, wait two hours, eat the top-up, then run with your belt, your gels, and your alerts. Start one rehearsal with a downhill and hold goal pace over rolling hills in the first half. If you plan to use the course products, buy the Precision Hydration mix and PF 30 gels and try them in training first.

Record fullness, nausea, thirst, and energy in plain words. The plan you can still follow on the H Street Bridge at mile 21 is the right one.

Race-Week CIM Checklist

• Read the course and aid station page again, and confirm your bus location and departure time.
• Plan breakfast backward from your bus and pack the start-line top-up.
• Lay out every carried gel, add one backup, and write grams and clock times on one card.
• Check the forecast 48 hours out: a frosty start changes clothing, not the carb plan.
• Decide now whether you will take the caffeinated fuel-stop gels.
• Eat nothing new from the expo on race day.

Turn your bus time, finish target, body weight, and preferred fuel into one timed plan around the 17 CIM stations and three fuel stops.

Build Your CIM Race Plan

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources and Update Notes