updated 2/08/07

These are the people contribute their time and special skills to keep the California International Marathonon the right track. They meet thoughout the year and brainstorm to make the CIM the best it can be.



DENNY JOYCE, President

Denny is one of the founding members of CIM, was its Board president for four years, and it is onlt fitting that he has returned to this position for the CIM's 25th Anniversary year. In 1992 he completed a 24-year career with the FBI after serving as a supervisor in the Sacramento Field Office for 12 years. Now he has his own private investigating firm specializing in employment law and fraud investigations. An avid runner and cyclist, he has run five CIMs. He can be found most weekends running the trails near his home in Folsom with his dog Lexi.
LUCY EIDAM, Vice President

Exercise is Lucy's favorite way to relax, decompress, and spend time in the great outdoors. A CIM board member since 1995, Lucy has run the CIM twice and plans to again. She grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon, home town of the famous Steve Prefontaine, and went to his college, University of Oregon. So, you could say, running is in her blood. When she's not busy managing her public relations firm, Lucy & Company, she enjoys yoga, running, and biking.

DENIS ZILAFF, Immediate Past President/Legal Advisor

Denis, a Sacramento native and an attorney in the County Counsel's Office, has served on not-for-profit boards including the Parent Support Program, Parents Anonymous, and the Old Sacramento Little League, of which he was president in 1997. His first marathon was the first CIM in 1983. Since then he has run all of the CIMs and an additional 16 more marathons. He has also finished 39 ultramarathons including two Western States 100-Mile Endurance Runs and every Cool Canyon Crawl 50K (now named Way Too Cool 50K).
LARRY LIEB, M.D., Treasurer

Larry is a retired pathologist and is the former director of the laboratories at Mercy San Juan and Mercy Folsom hospitals. He ran his first marathon (the CIM) at age 62 and his ninth one at the 2005 CIM. AS a relatively new septuagenarian, he looks forward to many more years of training for marathons and reaping the fitness benefits from running. Each year he runs the CIM his appreciation for all of the volunteers and for his wife-led support team increases.
DEIRDRE FITTZPATRICK

Deirdre Fitzpatrick joined the CIM Board in 2002. She is an avid runner and triathlete who has competed in six CIMs, the Boston Marathon, and Ironman Wisconsin. Deirdre is a morning anchor/reporter at KCRA-TV. She combined her interest in athletics with her profession by reporting live at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, and the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.
STEVE POLANSKY, M.D.

Steve, originally from New York City, has been a Sacramento resident for more than 30 years. He settled here after two years of service at Mather Air Force Base Hospital. He has a private practice in Obstetrics and Gynecology and is also one of the partners of the Greater Sacramento Surgery Center. A running enthusiast for over 25 years, Dr. Polansky has run 52 marathons, including all 24 CIMs, Boston, Chicago and N.Y. He is chairman of the newly formed not-for-profit Summit Eating Disorders Program. This past summer in celebration of his 60th birthday, he hiked the entire Tahoe Rim Trail (165 miles) raising $20,000 for charity. He is a member of the Buffalo Chips Running Club.

LEIGH RUTLEDGE

Leigh, a runner for many years, has run ten marathons including two CIMs, the 100th Boston Marathon, the Paris Marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C., and the 2001 New York City Marathon. She also has one ultramarathon under her belt, the Way Too Cool 50K. She has served on the Buffalo Chips Running Club's Board of Directors and has been active with Team in Training. Leigh also runs around Sacramento selling homes - she is a licensed real estate broker with Dunnigan Sierra Oaks Realtors.
PO ADAMS, Board Member Emeritus

In September 2005, Po was proclaimed "Board Member Emeritus" after submitting her board resignation. Po served as the CIM secretary for seven years. Po is also a Life Member of the Buffalo Chips Running Club and is a former Western Regional Director of the Road Runners Club of America. A runner for over 25 years, Po has completed more than 45 marathons since running her first, the 1983 CIM. Of these, 16 were CIMs. Po is an advocate for older runners and women s safety. At the age of 80 she sees no reason to give up running long distances or climbing mountains. Having conquered Mt. Whitney many times, summited 19,400-ft. Mt. Killimanjaro, run the Great Wall of China Marathon and Cambodia's Ankar Wat Marathon she is always looking forward to new life experiences using her feet and her head.

CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL MARATHON STAFF

The CIM Staff is comprised of people with the experience, knowledge and dedication to achieve the goals determined by the CIM Board.
JOHN MANSOOR, Race Director

John was a co-founder of CIM in 1983 and has been involved with the event ever since. He is also the Executive Director of the Pacific Association of USA Track & Field. In 1996 he oversaw the Men's and the Women's U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. He helped coordinate the Olympic Track Trials in Sacramento in 2000 and 2004 and the NCAA Track Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2006. In the late '70s and early '80s, John was one of California's top marathoners with a personal best of 2:18:34.
TERRY DeBENCIK, Technical Director

Terry has also been involved with CIM since 1983. He ran it twice, was a volunteer in 1987 and 1988, was on the Board 1991 and 1992, and has been Technical Director since 1993. Terry is a partner in DeBencik and Hensley Special Event Management, which has played a role in over 500 community and sporting events since 1983. They include the Waterfront ArtsFest, Festival de la Familia, Pacific Rim Street Festival, Eppie's Great Race, many road races and other events, especially in Old Sacramento.
 JULIE FINGAR, Director of the CIM Marathon Relay Challenge, Relay & Expo Director, Volunteer Outreach, Promotions Coordinator

Julie has worked with the CIM since 2001, and, thanks to her enthusiasm and dedication to the CIM, her responsibilities have increased each year, beginning with Director of the Relay and expanding to include Director of the Expo, Volunteer Outreach and Promotions Coordinator.
She is an accomplished marathoner and ultra runner, Her first marathon was the CIM in 1998. Since then, Julie has run seven Boston Marathons, is a four-time, sub-24-hour finisher of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, and has accumulated a number of prestigious marathon and ultra-marathon awards.
Due to her passion for helping others, Julie started her business, Fit to Run.  She trains individuals of all levels who dream of extraordinary fitness goals. Julie also works on event teams for other races in Northern California including Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon, Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon and The San Francisco Marathon. Julie is a volunteer with the Placer High School Cross Country and Track Teams.
CYNCI CALVIN, Collateral, CIM Secretary

Cynci blames the CIM for being hooked on running. In 1984, she made a New Year’s resolution to run it for her first marathon. She had so much fun that she has run 50 marathons since, including 16 CIMs.
Cynci volunteers for the Buffalo Chips Running Club and is the secretary of the Pacific Association, USA Track and Field. She is the CIM Clif BAR Celebrity Pace Team coordinator and is a member of the City of Auburn’s “Endurance Capital of the World” Committee.
When she’s not volunteering or training for her next marathon, she’s working in her vegetable garden, cooking, backpacking, or finishing up projects for her graphic design/editing business, CC Ink.