First-time marathon runner breaks a CIM record in Sacramento
Thousands of runners raced from Folsom to downtown Sacramento on Sunday for the capital region’s biggest race of the year: the California International Marathon.
Of those runners, many were running their first marathon — including the winner of the women’s division.
Molly Born, a 26-year-old Oklahoma State alumna, crossed the finish line with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 9 seconds in her marathon debut, giving her the 2025 USATF Marathon Championship title and setting a new course record for the women, according to marathon organizers.
Born, a professional runner, previously ran for Oklahoma State’s cross country and track team, competing in events such as the 1,500 meter, 10,000 meter, 5K and 6K — but not the full marathon.
On the win, Born said, “I knew it was a possibility, but I wasn’t expecting kind of all this.”
“It feels really good,” she said. “I’m glad to have kind of found my event, I think it’ll be marathon going forward.”
In the men’s division, Futsum Zienasellassie took home the win with time of 2:09:29. Zienasellassie, 32, previously won the California International Marathon in 2022 with a mark of 2:11:01. For much of the race Zienasellassie was trailing Joseph Whelan, who finished second, but passed him in the last few miles.
“I’m just very grateful,” Zienasellassie said, “to be able to be healthy and to come out here and actually, win the race. I can’t really ask for anything more.”
The 26.2-mile race, hosted by the Sacramento Running Association started at 7 a.m. near the Folsom Dam and ended at the state Capitol in downtown Sacramento. The finish line closed at 1:30 p.m., with road closures expected to last into the evening.
This year’s event also doubled as the 2025 USATF Marathon Championships and allowed runners to achieve qualifying times for the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials, the marathon said.
CIM organizers said 10,000 runners competed, and 107 — 52 men and 55 women — qualified for the Olympic trials by running a race of 2 hours, 16 minutes (men) or 2 hours, 37 minutes (women) or better, a record high for the CIM.
Nineteen finishers in the Top 100 were from California, led by Lars Dewall (23rd place) of San Diego, who finished the race in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 16 seconds.
Here are the Top 10 finishers in each category, as well as top local finishers from the Sacramento region.
Top 10 men
1. Futsum Zienasellassie, 2 hours, 9 minutes, 29 seconds
2. Joseph Whelan, 2:09:41
3. Christian Allen, 2:09:57
4. Joseph Trojan, 2:10:38
5. Chris Maxon, 2:10:54
6. Jacob Thomson, 2:10:54
7. Will Nation, 2:11:13
8. Jerrell Mock, 2:11:20
9. Jason Weitzel, 2:11:44
10. Murphy Smith, 2:11:58
Top 10 women
1. Molly Born, 2 hours, 24 minutes, 9 seconds
2. Sara Hall, 2:24:36
3. Megan Sailor, 2:25:16
4. Lindsey Bradley, 2:28:41
5. Maya Weigel, 2:28:44
6. Rebecca Schmitt, 2:28:46
7. Madey Dickson, 2:28:55
8. Kodi Kleven, 2:29:17
9. Anne-Marie Blaney, 2:29:21
10. Tessa Barrett, 2:30:10
Top 10 non-binary
1. David Elk, 2 hours, 26 minutes, 12 seconds
2. Winter Parts, 2:28:06
3. Jonah Grant, 2:28:28
4. Peter Kwayu, 2:55:08
5. JL Odom, 2:58:35
6. Adam Rochussen, 3:11:37
7. Piotr Kaszkur, 3:15:45
8. Benjamin Gluck, 3:27:59
9. Alejandro Pelacastre-Ramirez, 3:29:36
10. Casey Wei, 3:33:10
Top local finishers
Seth Totten of Fair Oaks took 62nd place for men with time of 2:16:55.
The top local women’s finisher was Sarah Anderson of Folsom, who took 72nd place in her category with a time of 2:39:15.
The top local non-binary racer was Piotr Kaszkur of Gold River, who finished in 3:15:45, good for No. 7 among non-binary finishers.
All race times and places remained unofficial as of midday Sunday, with runners continuing to stream past the finish line as of early afternoon.
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 2:05 PM.