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A group of 25 elite athletes will take on CIM with self-reliant fuel
The group is led by Tina Muir and partnered with HydraPak
Proving that refill stations are viable no matter your pace
At this point, I might as well be the cup guy — or maybe the anti-cup guy? Whatever you want to call me, we can agree that I'm invested in the future of hydration at marathons. I've written about my own experience in Paris last spring and the early returns coming out of both Chicago and New York City this fall, and I think clear progress is being made.
Along the way, though, I've had one concern: Elite runners. More realistically, sub-elite runners — those trying to chase a Boston-qualifying time without pacers or bottle tables at their disposal. Would they be willing (or even able) to slow down to refill and get right back to race pace?
I had my doubts, but now HydraPak and Tina Muir are doubling down. Here's what's coming to CIM.
I ran CIM last year. I took full advantage of its reputation as a BQ and OTQ factory, and I pushed myself to a PR. I broke 3 hours for the first (and only) time, and it took everything I had. Along the way, I relied heavily on a HydraPak SkyFlask I'd trusted for years before switching to the on-course Precision Hydration mix for the last few miles.
At no point did I consider what it would feel like to slow down and refill. It took all I had to grab cups from volunteers as I pushed my way to the finish.
This year, though, CIM's athlete cohort will attempt to prove me wrong, and I hope it succeeds. The group of 25 runners, spearheaded by the legend Tina Muir herself, will test self-reliance along the road from Folsom to Sacramento by carrying their own water and fuel. Of course, carrying gels is nothing new to runners, especially those chasing time, so the real challenge will be nailing hydration.
For the cohort, that means trusting HydraPak refill stations at miles 6.7, 14, and 20.5. Those stations will be open to all runners as well, but Muir's group of 25 will rely on them in place of the standard cups along the course.
As I see it, the most important thing about this experiment isn't the runners themselves. Yes, runners chasing elite times must be willing to participate, but CIM itself has to buy in, too. According to quotes coming out of Scott Abbott, executive director of the Sacramento Running Association and CIM, it seems like buying in was pretty easy.
As he put it, “The ‘Carry Your Own’ cohort lets us test whether runners can chase fast times while cutting down on single-use waste. We were excited to find a partner in HydraPak that shares that commitment, and the refill stations give us the infrastructure to find out what’s possible on one of the fastest courses in the country.”
To me, it sounds like this 25-runner experiment is set up for success. It also sounds like it's going to expand beyond 25 runners in a hurry. I won't be surprised if the number doubles (or more) by the time CIM rolls around again in 2027, with elite athletes not only trusting refill stations but looking forward to them.
And if the BQ and OTQ factory that is CIM can adapt to each runner's individual fueling strategy, other races can absolutely do the same. Sorry, disposable cups, but your time has passed.
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If you read it on the website, there’s a good chance Ryan has been involved in some way. As the editor-in-chief and review coordinator, he’s in charge of dotting the i’s, crossing the t’s, and making sure that the affiliate links are squared away. When he’s not doing that, he’s logging miles with just about every run club in Baltimore, snapping photos on his latest film camera find, or simply existing with his two cats, Luna and Stache.
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