Weather was bad – veteran has seen worse - Outbound

As one of 12 people credited with running every California International Marathon, Auburn's Tim Twiet-meyer was asked where Sunday ranked among the worst weather the race has seen in its 30 years.

His ruling: second.

"I think '87 probably end-to-end was harder," said Twietmeyer, 54, who led the three-hour, 35-minute pace group Sunday. "But I think it's in the top two."

That likely impacted the no-show rate for marathon-ers. Of the 9,300 people who registered, 6,474 started the race and 6,185 crossed the finish line, officials said.

There were 809 relay teams that finished and 2,000 joined in the 2.62-mile fun run.

A race spokesman said the marathon finishers included all dozen men who had run the first 29 CIMs.

"My goal was to not have to walk," said John O'Neill, 71, of Diamond Springs, the oldest of the group who finished in 4:22:22 and said it didn't come to that. "I'd say I struggled the last 10 miles, but 4:22 is good for me."

Also carrying the streak were Michael Buzbee, Steve Haun, Bruce Mauldin, Mike Nolan, Steve Polansky, Michael Ryan, Michael Sullivan, Ernest Takahashi, Barry Turner and Denis Zilaff.

A few finishes – America Aznar, 38, ran across the finish line near the Capitol and straight into the arms of husband Simon Stewart, 39, her face alternating between tears and a smile.

"I feel very good, thank you," Aznar said. "It was bonding. You bonded with a lot of strangers. Runners were handing me oranges, people were saying 'Draft behind me.' "

Stewart, who said the couple came from Edmonton, Alberta, finished in 2:53:51. Aznar was aiming for 3:25 and figured she was "right on the money." She ran a 3:25:55.

• Tony Rotheram came across at 4:39:03, smiling under the bill of his cap and describing the meaning behind the No. 171 on his racing bib. "My number is 171, I'm 71 years old and it's my 71st marathon," said Rotheram, of British Columbia, Canada.

"I was 45," he explained, "I watched the Olympics, the marathon running, and I thought, I'd like to do one of those. I thought I was only going to do one and I decided, hey, this is good fun."

• Diana Schumacher, 48, a detective with the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, said she crossed an item off her bucket list – to run a marathon before age 50. Her other goal, she said, was to "finish with dignity."

"And I think I managed to do that," said Schumacher, who finished in 5:03:48.

More winners – Aaron Scheidies defended his title in the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes National Championships, running 2:53:36. Kristina Ament won the women's race in 4:10:02.

• Rocklin's Chris Knorzer won the men's masters title for runners 40 and over, finishing in 2:36:26. Lisbet Sunshine of Larkspur was the women's winner in 2:54:47.

• Josh Hotaling of Loomis was the lone wheelchair competitor and, using a crank chair, finished in 2:13:46.

• Read more articles by Matt Kawahara

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