Runner Crosses Finish Line First at Modesto Marathon — Then Gets Disqualified for Running Too Little

March 27, 2026

Benjamin Enowitz thought he had just run the race of his life.

The 36-year-old from Los Angeles crossed the finish line at Sunday’s Modesto Marathon ahead of every other runner. He collected his finisher’s medal, made it back to his hotel, and started reading congratulations messages from friends who had been tracking him online. Then his name disappeared from the results.

“The next thing you know, I got removed from the results and then I saw someone else announced the winner, and I’m in my hotel room confused,” Enowitz said.

He didn’t find out he had been given a DNF — did not finish — until he got back home to Los Angeles.

The problem came down to a matter of yards. The lead bike responsible for guiding the first marathon runner turned Enowitz around at the 13-mile mark, rather than at the actual turnaround point, which sits just past mile 13.

“The lead bike took the first full marathon runner and turned him around at mile 13 instead of at the correct spot,” race director Bree Fitzpatrick told The Modesto Bee.

According to Enowitz’s Strava data, he ran 24.64 miles at a 5:41 per mile pace, finishing in roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes. A legitimate completion at that pace would have put him close to 2:30:00 for the full 26.2 miles — a time that would almost certainly have earned him a spot at the Boston Marathon.

Because he ran short of the full distance, he cannot be reinstated as the winner. Fitzpatrick confirmed he will be offered free entry into next year’s race.

The official champion is Lupe Palalia, 39, of San Jose, who finished in 2:35:49 — a significant improvement on his sixth-place finish last year when he ran 2:42:58.

Modesto has been here before. In 2022, Fresno native CJ Albertson was initially disqualified after a police motorcycle led him 400 meters beyond the finish. Because he’d run more than 26.2 miles, officials were able to reinstate him. Enowitz’s situation doesn’t allow for the same fix.

For more than a decade, Modesto police officers served as lead bikes. Fitzpatrick confirmed they stopped volunteering in the role after 2024, and the past two races have used civilian volunteers instead. Last year’s event went off without incident. Marathon Handbook