Modesto Marathon disqualified CJ Albertson, then awarded him first – and a sizzling 2:12:08 time – three days later

The San Joaquín Valley’s premier marathoner CJ Albertson – he owns the course records for marathons in Fresno, Modesto and Bakersfield – ran the fastest time at the March 27 Modesto Marathon … but the Fresno resident was not declared the winner until Tuesday evening.

This came after Albertson, who was led an extra 400 meters by the lead motorcyclist who is there to make sure lead runners are kept on course, was listed as disqualified on the marathon’s unofficial results online after the race.

“I finished, then went and took a shower,” said Albertson, who was credited with a winning time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 8 seconds. “I saw that I wasn’t on the results and saw that my name was at the very bottom it just said ‘DQ.’”

Albertson said no race official told him he was disqualified, much less offer an explanation.

In an e-mail Thursday morning, race director Gabriela Guerrini confirmed that Albertson was the official winner.

Guerrini said that Albertson was following a Modesto police motorcycle officer who took a wrong turn on the course, “following the 5k/10k course instead of the marathon route.”

The officer realized his mistake and led Albertson back to the course, but not until Albertson had run an extra 400 meters.

“Albertson was far ahead of the pack at that point, so the error was most likely not noticed by other runners,” said Guerrini. “The MPD officer verified the events.”

The ShadowChase Running Club board of directors, which organizes the marathon, and Guerrini reviewed the events and decided to reinstate Albertson’s win.

Board member Mike Araiza said USATF rules state that a runner may not shorten the course, but says nothing about going too far.

“We thought it was only fair to reinstate his amazing win,” said Guerrini.

Nate Moore, who has been a longtime director of the Two Cities Marathon in Fresno in addition to trail runs along the San Joaquín River, reacted Sunday evening on Strava to Albertson’s disqualification.

“Insanely awesome run! Modesto is going to make themselves look like a joke, that’s a horrible decision for a DQ,” Moore posted. “I’d be embarrassed if I were the RD (race director).”

In a Sunday post, Albertson wrote: “Lead bike took me on a 400m+ detour to make sure I didn’t PR in practice and get trashed on the message boards.”

The extra distance came within the first two miles of the course as runners went through the Modesto Junior College area. The motorcycle driver failed to make a left on West Fairmont and kept going another block before turning left on Mensinger and then reuniting with the marathon course. (The 10- and 5-kilometer runners go to Mensinger, so there were markings for that race).

Albertson wondered why he was suddenly behind other runners once he got back on track.

“When I was approaching the 2-mile marker, my watch was at like 2.3 miles, so I was thinking I definitely went long,” he said.

Albertson, who will be among the elite runners in the Boston Marathon on April 18, said a race official reached out to him on Monday asking questions.

“I kind of explained what happened, and he then said he didn’t really know why I was DQ’d either,” said Albertson during a telephone interview Tuesday night.

Modesto Marathon has a new course record

His official time is a new course record. Albertson’s Strava credits him with a personal-best 2:10:28. Sunday’s announced winner, David Yott of Walnut Creek, finished in 2:41.28.

Wednesday, Albertson wondered how race officials came up with a 2:12:08 time. A photo of him crossing the finish line shows 2:11:57.

“I saw it, pretty sure they just made up the times lol,” Albertson said in a text message Wednesday. “My finish time was 2:11:57 or 2:11:58. There’s literally a picture of me finishing with the clock.”

Albertson shattered the former Modesto Marathon record of 2:16:45 he set in 2019.

Albertson said he didn’t “race” the course, but used it as a training run for the Boston Marathon. He ran another 8 miles Sunday afternoon.

“I just wanted to run hard,” said Albertson about Sunday’s marathon. “It’s not really a high-stakes race or anything to be gained from it.”

Runners posted their thoughts online, some questioning if Albertson actually ran the full marathon and others saying it was the motorcycle driver who led him off course and therefore there was no need for a disqualification.

However, most questioned Albertson’s fast marathon only three weeks away from Boston, where his unorthodox style had him leading the world’s elite marathoners through the first 20 miles. Albertson finished 10th in that race.

He is thinking of a sub-2:10 marathon if he hits the half-marathon in about 1:04.

“I think there’s 12 guys now that have around sub-2:06 (at Boston), so obviously I’d like to be top 10 again,” said Albertson. “But if 10 guys run like 2:05, well, it’s maybe not realistic for me to finish top 10.”

Albertson said weather conditions might dictate how he handles the Boston Marathon, but there is one thing he is certain about: His 5-month-old son will be in Boston.

“He won’t really understand what’s going on, but it will be cool to see him after the race,” said Albertson.

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 30 de marzo de 2022, 0:38 p. m..