San Jose runner wins Modesto Marathon after course confusion
Sunday morning’s Modesto Marathon was won by Lupe Palalia, 39, of San Jose, with a time of two hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds. Last year, Palalia finished sixth, with a time of 2:42:58.
This year’s results were posted after confusion on the course resulted in the disqualification of another runner. “The lead bike took the first full marathon runner and turned him around at mile 13 instead of at the correct spot — only 1 Dq,” race director Bree Fitzpatrick told The Bee.”
The second runner to cross the finish line was Melvin Nyairo, 36, of Sacramento, with a time of 2:44:45.
In third was Evan Gawlik, 37, of Livermore, with a time of 2:46:00.
The top three female finishers were:
- Kimberly Bermudez, 31, of Burlingame, 2:58:10
- Caitlin Huang, 25, of Los Gatos, 3:14:53
- Finley Johnson, 15, of Tucson, 3:24:31
The runner disqualification Sunday was reminiscent of the 2022 marathon. Fresno native CJ Albertson won that year’s race after initially being disqualified because he was led an extra 400 meters by a police motorcycle officer who was leading the runners. He ran the marathon in 2 hours, 12 minutes and eight seconds, which shattered his previous course record. He also finished first in 2019.
Details on what happened Sunday, and how, were not immediately available.
The Modesto Marathon event includes four events: the full marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k. Total registration Sunday was at 2,714, according to Runsignup.com. The most popular run was the half, with 929 registered.
The event was created for, and benefits, the Teens Run Modesto program, “which challenges area youth, especially those at-risk, to experience the benefits of goal-setting, character development, adult mentoring, and improved physical fitness through a structured training program, culminating in the running and completion of the Modesto Marathon,” according to the marathon’s website.
This story was originally published March 22, 2026 at 2:03 PM.
