Two Cities Marathon

INTRODUCTION: I am a racewalker with a median marathon completion time of 5:27:10. The Two Cities Marathon was my seventy-fourth 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was an excellent day for a marathon: 50 degrees, 87 percent relative humidity, overcast, and wind from the northwest at 9 miles per hour. Starting at Clovis College in Fresno, the first ten miles of the almost entirely flat course was mostly on the straight Willow Road, Sheperd Avenue, and Friant Road. All three streets were closed to traffic. We then entered into Woodward Park, home of but one California Interscholastic Federation State Cross Country Championship since its inception in 1987. (Devotees of the Disney film; McFarland, USA; might have observed the incorrect setting of Griffith Park in Los Angeles as the premier race championship venue.) Perhaps the most scenic part of the marathon, roughly two miles were covered on the park's winding road and bike trail. Returning to Friant Road just before the halfway point, we turned left and retraced our steps for two and a half miles on Sheperd Avenue. At mile 16, we were directed onto a bike trail that ran parallel to North Willow Road before diverting onto the Clovis Old Town Trail at mile 17. Going out and back, the mostly flat trail was interrupted by gradually sloping underpasses at Willow Road, Nees Avenue, Villa Avenue, and Herndon Avenue. Just past mile 19, we jogged over to Pollasky Avenue travelling six-plus blocks into Old Town Clovis before turning around and retracing our steps back to the trail. Around halfway into mile 22, we diverted onto the out-and-back, mostly shaded, Dry Creek Trail before returning to the departure point a mile later. We then returned to Clovis College on the Clovis Old Town Trail and, just past mile 24, Willow Road to finish our marathon journey. Finish time temperature was 57 degrees, 67 percent relative humidity, clear, and wind from the east at 8 miles per hour. ORGANIZATION: I remember meeting the race founder taking notes on the 2008 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon bus tour prior to his inaugural race that same year. Clearly, his observations of the OKC event had translated well into his own event over the past several years. Well organized expo. Great swag that included a hoodie and technical tee shirt. Excellent traffic control and course support. Explicit direction signs placed throughout, thus preventing any possibility of getting off-course for those paying attention. SPECTATORS: The decibel antithesis of its more famous and larger counterpart held in New York City on the same day; even the ducks on the pond at Woodward Park did not seem to take notice of the marathoners. It simply was a quiet course that allowed the participant to focus on one's performance. One high school band was observed on Friant Road just before mile 5. CONCLUSION: Roughly one-fourth of the course is in Clovis, the balance is in Fresno. In terms of population, Fresno is four times larger than Clovis, so there is no possibility that the cities, or the marathon, would be confused with the marathon held in Minnesota's capital. No one would accuse the Two Cities Marathon as being a marquis event in the Golden State, much less the country, but given its easy course, excellent organization, and great weather, it is a marathon worth consideration. Well done!