Fresno runner had Boston Marathon watchers asking, ‘Who is this guy?’
Clovis Community College coach and Fresno distance runner CJ Albertson made a splash in the racing world Monday after leading the Boston Marathon for the first 20 miles.
The Buchanan High alum ended up finishing 10th, but the late comer to marathon racing counted it as a victory after finishing with a time of 2:11:43.
A number of Boston-area news outlets took notice of him. Marathon running is dominated by foreign athletes.
“The other guys can run a 4:40 pace up Heartbreak Hill and I’m not that kind of runner so I had to run differently,” Albertson told the Boston Globe. “Realistically, tenth is good for me.”
Albertson, who ran collegiality for Arizona State, is the world record-holder for the 50k. He said his Boston strategy was to dominate the downhill runs and tread water on the uphills.
Albertson tore through the first mile in 4 minutes and 30 seconds and separated himself from the pack immediately, and led by as many as two minutes at the halfway point of the race.
“I’m the best downhill runner in the world and I honestly wholeheartedly believe that. I wasn’t running hard, I’m just really good at downhills. I knew that if I hung back with the pack, anytime we hit a hill I’d hit a drop and there was no way I’d be competitive at all,” he told WBZ-TV CBS Boston.
Albertson ran his first marathon in 2018 in discounted running shoes. He holds a handful of distance running records, including the fastest indoor marathon.
He also turned 28 on Monday while racing on his birthday. Albertson and his wife are expecting a baby in three weeks.
This story was originally published October 11, 2021 at 10:36 AM.
