USATF Marathon Championships Bring Top U.S. Marathoners to 2022 California International Marathon

November 9, 2022

Championship fields will compete for U.S. National titles and a combined $90,000 prize purse

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The 39th California International Marathon (CIM) is set to host the 2022 USA Track & Field (USATF) Road Marathon Championships on Sunday, December 4. The Marathon Championships are the final event on the annual USATF Road Racing Circuit and features 180 of the top U.S. marathoners from around the country.

2021 CIM Champion and local Sacramento area runner Brendan Gregg returns to CIM as one of the favorites to be crowned U.S. Champion on the men’s side. Gregg ran his personal best marathon time at last year’s CIM, crossing the finish line in 2:11:21, the third fastest time ever run on the CIM course.

“Every year, CIM delivers an amazing experience for runners throughout the pack, providing one of the best events anywhere in the world for running a personal best. I can’t think of a more fitting venue to host the USATF Marathon Championships this year,” said Gregg. “I’m thrilled that CIM will once again welcome many of the nation’s top marathoners to Sacramento, and returning to defend my win from last year will be all the more exciting with the chance to compete alongside them with a national title on the line.”

Gregg is expected to be challenged for the title and $20,000 first place prize by a strong field of U.S. marathoners, including Noah Droddy of Boulder, Colo. who holds the fastest marathon time in the field, having run 2:09:09. Other contenders include 2018 USATF Marathon Championships runner-up Matthew Llano of Flagstaff, Ariz., who has a personal best of 2:11:14 and Tyler Pennel of Blowing Rock, N.C who placed 11th at the 2020 USATF Marathon Olympic Trials in a personal best time of 2:12:34.

Marathon debutant Futsum Zienasellassie of Flagstaff, Ariz. may also play into the mix up-front. Zienasellassie joins the field with a 1:01:21 half-marathon personal best and is currently sitting in third place in the USATF Road Racing Circuit standings.

Favorites to win the women’s race include a trio of top-seeded marathoners: Paige Stoner of Murrieta, Calif, Bria Wetsch of Centennial, Colo., and Julia Griffey of Flagstaff, Ariz. Stoner enters the CIM women’s field with a personal best marathon time of 2:28:43. Wetsch and Griffey hold personal bests of 2:29:50 and 2:29:58, respectively. All three ran their personal best time at the 2020 Marathon Project held in Chandler, Ariz.

“This will be a unique opportunity to compete for a national title while also racing on a course that is known for producing fast times,” said Stoner. “I’m looking forward to competing against some of the nation’s best, while also chasing after a PR.”

A number of veteran marathoners and marathon debutants are also expected to be contenders up-front in the women’s field. Katja Goldring of Flagstaff, Ariz. returns to Sacramento for her fourth CIM after placing fourth at the 2021 CIM in a personal best time of 2:30:14. Lauren Hurley of Boulder, Colo. will make her marathon debut at CIM, following a professional triathlon career and recent half-marathon best of 1:09.46.

The men’s and women’s championship fields will compete for a combined $90,000 total prize purse, with additional $3,000 bonus for setting a new course record and a $500 bonus for athletes who run under the 2024 USATF Marathon Olympic Trials qualifying times of 2:18:00 for men and 2:37:00 for women. The current CIM course records are 2:10:27 for men, set in 1993 by Jerry Lawson and 2:26:53 for women, set in 2021 by Sara Vaughn.

“CIM has a long history of being both a platform for established veterans to ‘level up’, as well as a launching pad for emerging stars’ to accelerate their careers,” said Scott Abbott, Sacramento Running Association Executive Director. “This year’s U.S. Championship fields feature many athletes that fit these molds, so it will be exciting to see which athletes seize CIM’s time-tested breakthrough opportunity with the enhancement in 2022 to earn the title of ‘National Champion’,” added Abbott.

The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.

2022 USATF Marathon Championships: