They say it’s downhill: Running CIM with A Tribe Called Run

They say it’s downhill: Running CIM with A Tribe Called Run

Crossing the CIM finish line.

A Tribe Called Run closed out 2025 in much the same way we started it: running a marathon in the Golden State of California. Only this time, instead of the wide, sun-bleached freeways of Los Angeles, we headed north, to the rolling hills and chilly mornings of Sacramento. Our challenge? The California International Marathon — CIM, as the cool kids call it.

As a small team of five, we each trickled into town, balancing nerves and excitement in just about equal measure. I mean, as runners used to the intimidating hills and muggy summers of Baltimore, how could a race that’s known as a Boston (and Olympic) qualifying factory not feel like the perfect test? So, we joined up with a much larger field of 10,000 runners and put those high hopes to the test.

Before we could do that, we had to shake things out a little bit. Four of us (Ryan Haines, Etta Moen, Ted Sheppy, and Guillermo Canner) met up at one of the city’s many shakeouts, hoping to get a few miles in and meet some runners who might have a little more insight into the net downhill race we’d spent so much time hearing about.

Unfortunately, that shakeout run that was meant to start at 9 am — you know, perfect shakeout time — didn’t. We waited a while, figuring that a group photo had to be just around the corner, but it didn’t come. So, we set off on our own, headed to Old Sacramento and the riverfront, and took in the sights. And by sights, I mean there was not one lick of sunshine from the minute we landed until race day. We did spot some seals on the return half of our shakeout, though, which you just don’t get along Baltimore’s promenade.

Post shakeout, it was time for the expo — with a cameo from our man Chris Kash — and a shared pre-race lunch. Can you tell I’m putting off the race recap for as long as possible? There’s just something about a marathon where the anticipation is half the battle. If you’ve ever run one, though, you know just how vital the pre-race meal is. It’s where we finally got to sit down as a team (now with Caroline Lampinen, who had arrived from travel) and discuss our respective goals for the day. It’s also where we (or at least Etta) decided that we needed a side quest: glitter. It took a minute (or 45), but we were able to track some down — something you’ll already know if you’ve seen any of Etta’s race day photos.

Anyway, after lunch it was time for bed. Yes, seriously, at like 5 pm. That’s the thing about CIM, it’s an early start. Although the race itself doesn’t officially begin until 7 am, you have to be up and at the convention center to catch a bus from Sacramento to Folsom (like the Johnny Cash record) no later than 4 am. It’s a simple ride — just get on the bus and fall back asleep — but an early one that gives the nerves plenty of time to build.

And build they did, because I couldn’t shake the words of Ashley Woods from my head. I’d spent so much of my CIM build declaring that I wouldn’t be “sending it” as it were. I’d already run one marathon, set one PR, and besides, I’d been sick not too long after spectating the New York City Marathon. So, I figured, a nice 3:15 would be good, or I could just take on the hills with Etta to see what we could push to for her first marathon. Then, Ashley got involved and suggested I set myself up with Jarrhett Butler — our former Asics rep who had planned to take a group sub-3:00. She figured I could handle it, my friends agreed with her, and now all that was left was for me to try.

I found them at the starting line, tightened my Asics Metaspeed Ray one more time, trusting its pristine stack of Flytefoam Leap and AsicsGrip rubber to carry me through 26.2 misty miles. I put my pace and my vibes into Jarrhett’s trusting hands, and off we went. Now, I’d be lying to you if I said I remembered everything about the race — I don’t. I think I shut my mind off and let my legs carry me through mile after mile of rolling hills, feeding on the crowd and bargaining with myself just to keep moving, to just hold the pace for one more mile. Somehow, and against all odds, I did, and I crossed the line with a new personal best of 2:58:16 to show for it.

I’m merely one of five runners, though, so I asked Etta, Ted, Caroline, and Guillermo for their own respective recaps, and this is what they said:

Caroline: Ryan isn’t the only one to have been lifted by Ashley over the course of this training block. For anyone who doesn’t know, she’s served as my coach and been a key contributor to the 24-minute (yes, seriously) PR I achieved at CIM, believing in me even when it wasn’t easy for me to do so. She spurred me to trust the cold, downhill course, knowing that it had nothing to throw at me that I hadn’t already felt close to home in Baltimore. Well, maybe the much chillier weather, at least compared to the usual heat of BRF — you already know that, though.

Perhaps the most important factor in my brilliant day, though, is you all in A Tribe Called Run. Since day one, Tribe has been a family to me, lifting me in much the same way as Ashley has, stepping up for runs long and short, workouts and easy miles, pushing me to get better, get faster, and get stronger. The fact that I was able to represent Tribe for this massive effort and deliver in a way that I’m proud of makes it just that much sweeter.

Guillermo: A year and a half ago, I herniated a disc while marathon training. I finished the last rep of a fartlek workout and was barely functioning as a human for the next six months. I knew I could go long and slow, and that’s what I focused on when I came back: just doing lots of mileage slow and easy, thinking there may never be a day I could race a marathon again, let alone PR at it. I’m grateful to Asics and Tribe for the opportunity and support to prove myself wrong.

Also, Guillermo caught me (Ryan) at mile 24.5, so as John Wick would put it, “Yeah, I’m thinkin’ I’m back.”

Etta: With this being my first marathon and knowing that the CIM course is notoriously fast, I knew this was a great chance to go for it and see if I could qualify for Boston on my debut. The experience of running a marathon for the first time is not one you can easily prepare for, and when it got hard in the last few miles, with my hamstrings cramping and my stomach giving up, the phrase that got me through was “you have your community behind you.” 

The only reason I signed up was that I was inspired by all the amazing tribe members who run multiple marathons a year, by all the people who qualified for Boston at BRF, and by the people who show up every week, rain or shine, to run with others and push themselves towards their goals. Tribe was the first community I found when I moved to Baltimore, and Tribe is the reason this race was a success.

Ted: Well, Ted didn’t submit a recap, but for taking on his very first marathon at more than 50 years of age, he absolutely crushed it. He may have been the strong, silent type leading up to race day, but he turned in a 3:20:00, meeting his Boston qualifying time down to the very second. 

Despite our very different paces and maybe only seeing each other for a combined couple of minutes on the course, all five of us took on the rolling hills of Sacramento and came out the other side victorious. We went five-for-five on recording PRs, carried through by our respective Asics shoes, with energy from the A Tribe Called Run family back at home and the USATF marathon national championships ahead of us.

Maybe we didn’t record a time as lofty as Sara Hall’s second-place 2:24:36, but you won’t find a single one of us disappointed with our performances, and you can bet we’re already scheming ways to get back to Sacramento with even faster finishes in mind.