The "Two Cities Marathon and Half Marathon" kicked off at 7 a.m. Sunday. The athletes started at Friant, near Audubon -- and ran down the Old Clovis trail, through Downtown Clovis, and back to Northeast Fresno before ending up at Woodward Park.
The full course is 26.2 miles, but runners we spoke with say the joy of finishing makes all the training and pain worthwhile.
"Well it empowers you. It gives you a goal, the journey of training of crossing of the finish line is a journey that changes life for the better," said trainer Jeff Galloway.
Some of the runners said they were planning to race in the New York City Marathon, but came here instead when it was cancelled because of Superstorm Sandy.
Adan Lozano won the overall marathon race with a time of 1:57:48.
