Men's Marathon: Albertson Dominates on Home Roads

• CJ Albertson wins in 2:08:27 (4:54/mi), leading every checkpoint from mile 1 through the finish and posting the fastest men's split on the opening 1M→10K segment.
• Top-3 locked in early: Hough (2:21:18) and Godkin (2:31:03) held 2nd and 3rd at every single checkpoint — the podium order never changed.
• John Damen's late surge: sitting 9th–10th through the 10K, the 46-year-old climbed to 5th by the finish (2:36:56) — and improved on his own 5th-place finish here in 2024 (2:39:29) by nearly three minutes.
• 18-year-old Pedro Lugo finishes 10th in 2:38:40 (6:03/mi), slotting into a four-man cluster — 8th through 11th — separated by just 3 seconds.

Fresno's own CJ Albertson made the Two Cities Marathon look like a training run. The 33-year-old local ran 4:54/mi across 26.2 miles in cool, breezy conditions — 53°F with a 13 mph wind — finishing in 2:08:27 and leading the men's field of 666 from the opening miles to the tape. He not only held the top spot at every checkpoint but posted the fastest men's split on the 1M→10K stretch, setting the tone before most runners had settled into their rhythm. Grayson Hough (2:21:18, 5:23/mi) was the runner-up from the gun, and Matthew Godkin (2:31:03, 5:46/mi) claimed 3rd just as steadily — the podium was essentially decided before the halfway mark.

Behind the top three, the race had real drama. Gregory Stevens started 5th but moved to 4th by the 10K and held it the rest of the way, finishing in 2:33:41 and posting the 3rd-fastest men's split on the 12M→Half segment. The bigger story was John Damen: the 46-year-old from Moraga was buried in 9th–10th place through the early miles, then unleashed the 5th-fastest men's split on the 10K→7.6M stretch and kept climbing, ultimately crossing in 2:36:56 for 5th — nearly three minutes faster than his 5th-place result at this same race in 2024. Same place, decisively better time.

The mid-pack produced its own intrigue. Joshua Riley (6th, 2:37:39), Christopher Orr (7th, 2:38:06), and Steven Waite (8th, 2:38:37) ran tightly together, and Waite's finish is worth noting: he went from 9th here in 2025 (2:39:30) to 8th in 2026, shaving nearly a minute off. Right on his heels, Irvin Del Rio (9th, 2:38:38) and 18-year-old Pedro Lugo (10th, 2:38:40) completed a remarkable four-man cluster — 8th through 11th covered by just 14 seconds — with Lugo's performance at his age standing out in that company.