C.J. Albertson the top American finisher at the 2024 Boston Marathon
His personal best time of 2:09:53 earned him the distinction as fastest American in a field of nearly 30,000 runners.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- C.J. Albertson, a Buchanan grad and current head coach of the cross country team at Clovis Community College, finished in 7th place at the Boston Marathon.
His personal best time of 2:09:53 earned him the distinction as fastest American in a field of nearly 30,000 runners.
"On Strava, a running app, I put my ideal Boston splits - kind of jokingly - and it came out to I think 2:09:52," Albertson told Action News. "I basically ran that exact time."
It's his fourth time running the Boston Marathon, having set the pace for 20 miles back in 2021 before fading to a 10th place finish.
"The course suits me," he said Monday. "All the downhills kind of beat people up, but I handle them pretty well and so I'm able to run basically my fastest times on Boston."
He added that it's a track he enjoys more than others, "so it's easy to race fast when you're also having a lot of fun."
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The Fresno native who trains in the Valley recently finished in 5th place in the Olympic Trials. With only the top three finishers qualifying, he just missed out on making the squad Team USA is sending to Paris this summer.
He plans on running in more marathons as he balances his coaching duties and being the father of two young kids and says he enjoys hailing from Fresno.
"I always joke about how Fresno is like the greatest running town in the world and everyone should come live and train in Fresno," he said. "It's cool just to be able to represent, and I love my hometown. So yeah, it's pretty awesome."
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