The CoreLogic Sacramento Marathon has a sentimental appeal for Capital Road Race Management (CRRM). It was at the inaugural race in 1977 where a short, scrawny thirteen-year-old boy named Rich Hanna ran his first marathon in 3:01:14 on a bacon and eggs breakfast. Twenty-nine years later, Hanna heads the management team for the Sacramento Marathon - now named Sacramento Cowtown Marathon.
Local sporting goods store owner John McIntosh organized the first Sacramento Marathon. An accomplished tennis player turned runner, McIntosh completed his first marathon in San Diego in 1976. It was there that he decided Sacramento needed a marathon of its own, and his business, McIntosh's Sports Cottage, would be the main sponsor. Nearly one thousand runners lined up in shady William Land Park for the first running of the event. New Zealand's Wayne Badgley took the men's race in 2:25:49, while Sacramento's own Sally Edwards ran away with the women's crown in 3:03:33. Under McIntosh's direction, the marathon and half marathon (added in 1978) blossomed to nearly two thousand participants combined during the running boom of the late 1970s and early 80s.
In 1986, McIntosh sold the event to Ron Sturgeon of neighboring Dixon, California. Participation in the event declined beginning in 1983 due to the arrival of the California International Marathon. The Sturgeon family kept the race going until 2003 when they sold the event to Race Walking International Sports Management Group headed by John MacLachlan and Paul Smith. John and Paul worked tirelessly to reinvigorate the event and dramatically increased participation in 2004 to nearly 1,150 participants between the marathon and half marathon. Sadly, Paul was diagnosed with colon cancer only days before the event and was unable to attend the event he worked so hard to co-produce. Paul passed away in early May of 2005. John decided not to tackle race organizing duties by himself and sold the race to CRRM in the spring of 2005.
Ushering in a new era for the event, CRRM fittingly renamed the race "Sacramento Cowtown Marathon". Despite being the capital city of California and having a population of nearly 1 million people, Sacramento has for years been considered no more than the "Cow Town" that lies between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe. Many of us embrace this distinction despite the fact that, for the most part, it's no longer accurate. We and over 66,000 cows still roaming the Sacramento Valley celebrate this legacy proudly!
The First Annual Sacramento Cowtown Marathon (29th Sacramento Marathon) took place on October 2, 2005 with a record crowd of over 2,200 participants.
Sacramento based CoreLogic (the leader in collateral risk management & property valuation solutions) came on board as the Title Sponsor of the event in 2006. Over 3000 runners and walkers participated in the 2nd Annual Corelogic Sacramento Cowtown Marathon and associated races.
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