California International Marathon

Not flat, but fast: a point-to-point route from the Folsom foothills to the California State Capitol in Sacramento, with a net drop of 366 feet. That gravity helps explain why 14.6% of the 2024 field broke three hours, the best rate of any American race in that comparison, and why it markets itself as a top Boston qualifier. The 2026 race is on December 6. It also counts as a US Olympic Trials qualifier, so the front of the field is deep with runners chasing standards. The trade-off is the profile itself. The early miles roll rather than glide, and a net-downhill course tires the quads in its own way, so it rewards a patient start more than a flat loop does.