Records broken, families run together at 12th Two Cities Marathon races
Thousands of runners and walkers descended Sunday onto north Fresno and Clovis streets for the 12th annual Two Cities Marathon and Half Marathon.
The winners of the men’s and women’s races crossed the finish line to claim victory on the chilly sunny morning.
CJ Albertson said he didn’t set out to break records. He won the men’s race with 2:14:51, a three-minute improvement from last year’s race, which he also won, and a record overall for the course. Albertson said Sunday’s marathon served as training for the California International Marathon held in Sacramento in December.
“If I win that one, I’d be pretty excited,” Albertson, 26, said.
In the women’s marathon race, 46-year-old Becky Cutler, a nurse at Kaiser Medical Center, broke a personal record with 3:07:56 to win that race. She said for every mile ran, a prayer was said for people she knows, like her family, her running partners and her friends. She got a boost from the sideline cheering along the way.
“I just feel really blessed, and blessed for the people around me,” Cutler said.
Organizers estimate about 3,000 participants took part in the events.
Wanda Kennedy, a 93-year-old grandmother, walked the 5K course with her granddaughter Kim Hoff and her great-granddaughter Claire Lisitsin, 10. To her granddaughters, it was a wonder that their grandma wanted to take part. But standing next to the wheelchair she didn’t use, Kennedy said she wants to do it again next year.
“I made it without stopping,” Kennedy said.
This story was originally published November 3, 2019 at 2:14 PM.
