Hometown man and woman win when thousands turn out for Modesto Marathon races

For the third time in as many years, Modesto resident Michael Mrgudic, 29, won the Modesto Marathon on Sunday, leading the pack with a time of two hours, 32 minutes flat, according to results posted by SVE Timing.

Crossing the finish line second and third, respectively, were Matthew Godkin, 33, of Concord, 2:33:27; and Grant Rozeboom, 39, of Walnut Creek, 2:39:35.

“To win the local marathon is a lot of fun, and I really appreciate all the community and everyone who’s helping me out on the course ...,” Mrgudic said after the race. “Just a nice, cool day, no strong winds ... It’s a nice course, it’s flat. I highly recommend anyone going for a BQ (Boston Marathon qualifying time) or PR come to this course, it’s a flat, easy to run fast, you get a nice tailwind for half of it. It’s a good course to roll on.”

The top three women were Eve Schaeffer, 45, of Novato, 3:17:40; Yanet Arikian, 36, of Madera, 3:20:21; and Kai Kishimoto, 42, of Cupertino, 3:23:14.

“I set my PR today in my hometown race and somehow I broke the tape for the first time in my life,” said Schaeffer, who grew up in Modesto and ran with a kids running group before running at Beyer High. She started running marathons in college nearly 25 years ago.

“I felt really good and just went for it,” she added. “The last four miles were tough but I thought maybe I was in first place. My dad, who’s been in Modesto for over five decades, is about to turn 80. ... I just wanted to make him proud today, really.”

The Modesto Marathon event includes four events: the full marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k. It was a beautiful morning to be on the courses, with a clear sky and a temperature of about 50 degrees when the events got underway between about 7 and 7:30 a.m.

According to the marathon’s website, more than 2,350 people were registered to participate.

The most popular event was the half, with 876 registered, followed by the 5k with 583, the 10k with 439 and the full marathon with 430. The remainder of the participants were registered in assisted or virtual events. “Virtual” means a participant can run “ remotely and still receive your shirt, swag item, and finishers medal in the mail shortly after the event.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2025 at 5:19 PM.