MODESTO -- #J.D. Bhatia# ran a race of his life on Sunday at the first running of the Modesto Marathon -- and the reward will be the chance of a lifetime opportunity to run in the prestigious Boston Marathon.

With coach Diljeet Taylor, teammates, friends and family cheering him on, the sophomore distance runner finished second in the race through the streets and countryside of Modesto. He finished the 26-plus-mile course in 2 hours, 54 minutes, 16.2 seconds to finish second in the Inaugural event, behind Modesto's Jon Olsen who ran a 2:43.44. Bhatia, 19, was first in his age group.

The event received certification from U.S.A. Track & Field meaning it's a qualifying event for the Boston Marathon, the world's premier and oldest annual marathon. To qualify for the Boston Marathon, a male athlete must run a certified event in three hours and 10 minutes (in the 18-34 age group).

"I am really happy with how I did. I am hoping I can go even faster at Boston," said Bhatia. "Coach Taylor's (training) program was amazing and I couldn't have done it without her suport and all of the support of my teammates."

Bhatia, who is the the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, sat out this last cross country season but served as a team manager and continued to train with the Warriors. His bother, Amar, is on the current men's track and field team.

Many of his cross country teammates even biked alongside him to offer him support. Taylor cheered him on and coached him along at various points of the race and everyone waited for him at the finish line.

"I am so proud of how hard (he) raced today. He led the race for about 15 miles," Taylor said. "He has trained very hard for this and it showed in the race this morning. I got goosebumps at the end of his race, I was so happy for him."

Bhatia, a biological sciences major and journalism minor, will continue to train to participate in the Boston Marathon in April of 2011. Annually, only about 20,000 athletes in the world competes in the marathon.