When the starting gun went off for the California International Marathon on Dec. 3, several faculty members from our own campus were among the ambitious 4,300+ who attempted this 26.2-mile run and 4,100 who completed.

The marathon began at the Folsom Dam, passing through outlying Sacramento-area communities and finishing at the historic California State Capitol building in Sacramento. The race typically attracts more than 5,000 runners who receive support from over 2,000 experienced volunteers and from spectators who line the streets to cheer the runners on.

It was not for the faint of heart...literally. Yet, as Carol Terracina Hartman, journalism professor and volunteer at the finish line said, "There were a lot of ARC shirts out there."

Dierdre Wolownick, professor of foreign language and a first-time marathon runner said her running career it began as jogging with her dog, but from the encouragement of her two children, began to run more and further. Finally, it led to a marathon, to which she said, "that

if I was to run anyway, I wanted to have a goal." And a goal she did have, fulfilling it in completing the race well before the reopening of the roads. "It's a wonderful exercise," she said with a smile.

Robert Dunlap, assistant baseball coach, ran and completed this run and his goal, as well. "I ran for myself," he said, "to say that I've run in a marathon."

When asked about his experience of this race, he replied, "it was intense...[but] the crowd really helped. The cheering took your mind off the pain."

anine Schenone, an English professor and long-time runner, complete this run in an impressive 4 hours, 56 minutes, and 22 seconds.

"Two years ago I really began to really push myself [in running]," she said to me in our interview, "but I started to get bored with that, so I took the marathon-training class here on campus...and I was hooked. Before that class, the farthest I had run was seven miles...[but after it] I did the Lake Natomas Marathon, which was 13 miles, and then the Helen Klein

J30K [about 18 miles]." When asked how this most recent marathon compared to her previous ones, she said, "It was a lot harder. Those eight miles really made a difference...but worth it was worth it."

This wasn't just a simple race, though: it was a 26.2-mile test of determination that is the 20th largest in the nation. As the official website for the marathon, www.runcim.org, said, "In addition to first-time marathoners, people seeking a personal best time, an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying time, or a Boston Marathon qualifying time, the CIM attracts top athletes from all over the world who seek record times on the fast course and compete for a share of the $50,000 prize money purse."

Other Beavers involved in the marathon race included Brian Bates, a humanities professor who crewed Wolownick; Jeanette Allred-Powless, a cross-country track coach who reportedly ran with her whole family; and Carol Terracina Hartman, a journalism professor who volunteered at the finish line.