Runners pound pavement in northeast Fresno. Here’s who won the Two Cities Marathon
Almost 3,000 runners and walkers from throughout California and across the U.S. took to the streets of Fresno and Clovis early Sunday for the annual Two Cities Marathon and Half Marathon.
Cloudy skies from an approaching storm system greeted runners ahead of the 6:30 a.m. start of the full 26.2-mile marathon, half marathon, a 10-kilometer run and a 5-kilometer run/walk. The weather, however, did not threaten to wash out the races or dampen the spirit of the competitors.
More than 400 hard-core runners entered the full marathon, which flowed through northeast Fresno and Clovis and followed a largely flat course that started and finished at Clovis Community College. The marathon carried a prize purse of $8,000.
The first runner to cross the finish line was Patrick Fernandez of Avalon. The 35-year-old completed the marathon in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 48 seconds – a clip that averaged about 5 minutes, 26 seconds per mile.
Fernandez was followed about 15 minutes later by Oscar Perez, 35, of Fresno, and Oscar Viquez, 30, of San Jose. Perez finished in 2:37:26, with Viquez another minute behind at 2:38:55.
While runners in the marathon came from as far as Colorado, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, perhaps the farthest-traveled athlete in the field was Nicolas Palme, a 36-year-old runner from Munich, Germany. Palme ran with the phrase “Human Beer Can” on his running bib, and finished fifth overall with a time of 2 hours, 45 minutes.
Among women competitors, Yuzki Oey, 25, of Goleta, was the fop finisher in 2:58:19 – 16th fastest among all competitors, male or female. Second place went to Ramona Sanchez, 45, of Sparks, Nevada, at 3:02:31. Ali Bartosch, 34, of Fresno, had a time of 3:10:24 to finish third.
One handcycle racer, 40-year-old Austin Parker of Hanford, completed the marathon in 1:43:46.
The race course is a qualifier for the famed Boston Marathon, and the top times by age group can pave the way for entry into the Boston event next spring. Runners who finished Sunday’s race with a Boston qualifying time were to be awarded a “Boston Qualified” shirt.
The 13.1-mile half-marathon attracted the largest field, with about 1,150 starters making their way through northeast Fresno. Nate Dunn, a 26-year-old from Vista, was the top male finisher and overall winner with a time of 1 hour, 7 minutes, 48 seconds, or about 5 minutes, 11 seconds per mile. The top female runner in the half-marathon was Alyssa Houtby, 33, of Visalia, who completed the course in 1:23:10.
Almost 600 runners ran the 10K, led to the finish line by Guillermo Lopez, 18, of Fresno, on the men’s side with a time of 34:46. Sarah Anderson of Clovis was the top women’s finisher at 46:09.
The Gavin Gladding 5K run and walk drew more than 800 participants. The race honors the memory of Gavin Gladding, a Clovis Unified School District vice principal who was killed by a hit-and-run driver as he jogged along Friant Road in northeast Fresno in September 2018. The day’s oldest participant, 90-year-old Christopher Denny of Fresno, crossed the 5K finish line using trekking poles with a time of 2:07:54.
The event also drew less intense athletes, including Kisha Xiong, 29, of Fresno, who ran the 10K course covered head to feet in an orange-and-black dinosaur costume. She managed to finish the race with a time of 1:26:20.
The complete list of results by gender and age group is available online at the Two Cities Marathon website at runfresno.com.
