Knocked off course for two years by pandemic, Modesto Marathon returns to the streets
The Modesto Marathon came racing back — in one runner’s case, bouncing back — Sunday after two years of being thrown off course by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The March 2020 event was canceled because of the coronavirus threat. A year later, it was held virtually, meaning runners on their own completed the 5-kilometer, 10K, half or full marathon distances to be eligible for a medal and shirt.
The last few in-person Modesto Marathons drew more than 3,000 runners, race director Gabriela Guerrini said Sunday morning as she still was registering participants. “We’re super excited” that so many people returned for the in-person event, she said. “Registrations are way better than we thought, probably 50% higher than we anticipated this year. ... We’re close to 2000 I think people have just been so excited to get an in-person race. The energy has been amazing. The weather’s gonna be perfect today.”
The winner of the marathon was Walnut Creek resident David Yott, 42, who ran a 6.09 minutes-per-mile pace to finish the course in 2 hours, 41 minutes, 28 seconds.
Sunday was Yott’s second Modesto Marathon, and he said he shaved nearly 10 minutes off his course time. It’s also only his second in-person race since the pandemic began. He raced in Sacramento in December.
For much of the pandemic, it was tough to train, Yott said. Some of the trails in the Bay Area had enough foot traffic that masks were necessary, but you can’t run wearing a mask, he said. “A group of us ended up running a lot of trails in the East Bay (where there was) a lot of open space.”
Of getting back out with a pack of runners Sunday, Yott said, “It’s great to be racing and this is a pancake-flat course, good weather.”
The other two top finishers of the marathon course were James Scanlan, 52, of San Francisco, with a time of 2:47:27, and Adam Cross, 41, of Mill Valley, with a time of 2:48:04.
The top three female marathoners were Julie Baker, 45, of Sonora, who finished in 3:11:31; Gardie Flores, 27, of Waterford, 3:13:45; and Carmen Fahlen, 22, of Providence, 3:26:13.
The 26.2-mile course is a Boston Marathon qualifier, but the great majority of those who participated Sunday had no such lofty goal. Whether in the 5k, 10k, half or full marathon, there were runners, joggers, walkers and stroller pushers. “Baby’s first 5k!” a young mom told Guerrini as she was getting her bib (race bib, not eating bib).
There even was a young man who decided to bounce a basketball the entire time he ran the half marathon. A week after running the L.A. Marathon, San Francisco resident Mark Bautista joined some close friends who live here “for a little, fun half marathon.”
Why the basketball? “I have to represent one of my idols,” Bautista explained, turning around the show the name Bryant on the back of his Lakers No. 24 basketball jersey. The late Kobe Bryant was his inspiration during the pandemic for “getting into fitness, taking care of myself, my health. ...
“Him passing away really took an impact on me, so I kind of wanted to give back to him and show that if you believe in yourself, you can dribble a basketball, if you want to, through a half marathon.”
The first Modesto Marathon was in 2010. It is is a fundraiser for the ShadowChase Running Club’s youth training program, Teens Run Modesto, and was created to give youth a local marathon so they wouldn’t have to travel to places like Sacramento and San Francisco for the experience.
Just as the pandemic affected the marathon, so it did TRM, Guerrini said. The first year of the pandemic shut down the program, which teams students with adult mentors at several area high schools and middle schools. The second year, TRM was able to help kids train on their own, she said, so they could have the full experience Sunday morning.
“They’re really excited to be in person because it is so good for them to be with their peers, and running and complaining about how long the runs are, and then celebrating their achievements together,” Guerrini said.
One of the TRM students, having just run his first half marathon at age 13, said “it was tough but it was fun.”
The farthest he had run during training was 12 miles, said Kenny Ramirez, who attends Great Valley Academy. On being able to train with other kids, he said, “It was really important because I saw kids at my age do better than me, so that pushed me to keep on going and going.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2022 at 1:21 PM.
