First Modesto marathoner finishes with good lead – a full day

The first runner crossed the finish line of the Modesto Marathon course with a time of 3:42:37 this morning – finishing roughly 24 hours before all the other participants.

Beyer High sophomore Jared Bingham, a member of the Teens Run Modesto program, ran the 26.2-mile course a day early so that he could be with family in church Sunday morning.

This was just the second time in the six years of the marathon and Teens Run Modesto that a student has run early, said TRM leader Mike Araiza, who set up the clock to time Bingham and welcomed him with a medal and handshake at the end.

“I was going for about three and a half (hours), but that didn’t happen,” Bingham said as he was congratulated by family and friends from school and church. “That’s OK – I have something to work on now.”

Bingham’s TRM mentor at Beyer, Judy McCullough, said he did a great job – especially considering he had to fight a headwind much of the course.

Bingham had pacers for part of the course, and his father accompanied him the whole way on bike. “He had all my stuff (water and food for energy), so he’d get ahead of me and be ready.”

While Bingham was finishing, the marathon expo was just getting under way at Modesto Centre Plaza. It gave runners of the full and half marathons and the 5k run a chance to pick up their race bibs and shirts, shop for running-related gear and meet members of the pace team, who carry easily followed signs on sticks to help runners reach goal times.

The Modesto Marathon officially gets under way today at 7 a.m. on M Street between 10th and 11th, as runners begin their 26.2-mile trek through the college area before heading into the countryside to the west. Sometime around 9:30 a.m., one or more marathoners will emerge onto N Street and head to the finish line in an attempt to be crowned champion.

This story was originally published March 28, 2015 at 1:59 PM with the headline "First Modesto marathoner finishes with good lead – a full day."