Fast finish gets the Miguel Reyes 5k win for CJ Albertson

The first mile was slow for CJ Alberton, until the 27-year-old junior college cross country coach’s competitiveness kicked in last Sunday (July 25).

After catching front-runner Darío Castro Pérez by the 2-mile mark, Albertson blazed a 4:34 final mile to capture the Miguel Reyes 5k for the second time on a Woodward Park course that throws in some hills.

“I didn’t have much of a strategy just because my fitness wasn’t quite super high,” said Albertson, whose 14:43.1 time didn’t match his 2018 winning time of 14:42.1 or the 14:32.9 time he clocked as the 2019 runner-up.

“The first mile, one of the guys took it out pretty, pretty fast,” said Albertson of Darío Castro Pérez, the Mexican runner who posted a 4:39.7 first mile and finished second overall in 14:56.5. “But, my body wasn’t saying ‘go, go’ at that pace.”

Albertson, an expectant father, held back with the main pack “to mentally conserve some energy.”

By the time he hit the 2-mile mark, “I actually felt pretty good,” he said.

“Once you get the lead, don’t let anyone pass you,” said Albertson, who pocketed $1,000 for winning the race.

So, what was the strategy in the final mile?

“I ran scared and tried to protect the rest of the race.”

The race was the last one for Albertson before he laces up his running shoes for the Boston Marathon in October.

“This is one of my first weeks back training hard,” said Albertson, who plans to put in about 100 miles of training this week

Unlike most marathon runners, Albertson, who owns a marathon best of 2:11:18, will not be participating in any warm-up races prior to the Oct. 11 Boston Marathon.

“I’m just going straight to Boston,” he said. “I don’t really think I need a tuneup race.”

The sixth running of the Miguel Reyes 5k (the 2020 version was wiped out by the COVID pandemic), was a strong one for local runner Kasey Knevelbaard, who finished third in 14:58.1.

Former Fresno High standout Evert Silva, now at the University of Portland, was fifth overall in 15:05.6. He has a 5k-best of 13:48:04.

México’s Hesiquio Flores Romero was fourth in 15:04.3.