SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- For the third year in a row, Madison Nelson has ascended the podium of the NAIA Marathon Classic with her second-place finish at Sunday's California International Marathon. Held in perfect marathoning conditions on Sunday morning, the race from Folsom to Sacramento serves as the NAIA's "unofficial" championship as the event moves from special event to emerging sport to national championship status.
Nelson ran a steady pace, averaging 6:37 per mile for the 26.2-mile run. Her time of 2:53:10 was a seven-minute improvement from her third-place finish in 2023. Forty-seven NAIA women completed today's run, paced by the winning time of 2:47:07 by Alauna Carstens of Evergreen State.
Griffin Kipchumba represented the Bruin men today, running in his marathon debut. Kipchumba started conservatively and moved up sixteen places over the second half of the race to finish 30th of 50 NAIA finishers. He averaged 6:16 per mile to finish in 2:44:15.
"I'm very proud of the way Madison and Griffin represented us today," commented Head Coach Craig Christians. "They both exceeded their personal goals, which is no easy feat in an event like the marathon."
