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America's Finest City Half Marathon

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America's Finest City Half Marathon is an annual half marathon race held in San Diego, California. ("America's Finest City" is the official nickname of San Diego.[1]) It was established in 1978. The event includes a 5K run.

America's Finest City Half Marathon
Cabrillo National Monument, the race's start point
DateAugust
LocationSan Diego
Event typeRoad
DistanceHalf marathon
Established1978
Official siteAmerica's Finest City Half Marathon

History

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America's Finest City Half Marathon was inaugurated in 1978 and has been held every year since then. By 1985, more than 6000 professional and amateur runners were taking part in the race each year.[2] The race is used to raise money for the American Lung Association and in its first fourteen years of existence it had cumulatively raised US$1.7 million for the nonprofit organization.

The race was sponsored by Home Federal Bank in the 1980s and early 1990s.[3][4] The race's organizers endured financial difficulties in 1992 after the loss of its title sponsor.[5] The race remained popular, however, and the following year over five thousand runners took part; among them was talk show host Oprah Winfrey, running under the pseudonym "Bobbi Jo Jenkins" and accompanied by a bodyguard, a trainer, and a video crew.[6]

At the 33rd edition in 2010, the half marathon and 5K races attracted an international field of almost 10,000 runners and the event had raised $3.8 million for non-profit organizations.[7] That year, Ethiopian training partners Ezkyas Sisay and Belaynesh Zemedkun topped the men's and women's fields respectively.[8]

Kenyan Nelson Oyugi holds the men's half marathon course record of 1:01:59, while Belaynesh Zemedkun is the women's record holder with her time of 1:10:28.[9] The men's race has been dominated by Kenyans, with 13 wins since the mid-1990s, but Americans are historically strong on the women's side with 17 race wins. The United States has produced the most winners overall, with 25 of the half marathon's winners hailing from the host country. Patrick Muturi of Kenya is the only man to win the race twice. Maria Trujillo has the most wins to her name, having won the race on four occasions.

A virtual race was held in 2020, and entrants were given the option to receive either a refund or defer their entry to 2021.

Race

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The course of the half marathon has a point-to-point format. It starts on the Point Loma peninsula next to Cabrillo National Monument – some 300 feet (91 m) above sea-level. The course heads north and descends towards San Diego Bay. Turning eastwards onto North Harbor Drive, the race enters a flat straight around the five mile (8 km) mark. After looping around Harbor Island, the course heads south, passing near Star of India. It traces a path northwards at this point, heading along Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street on its way to downtown San Diego. The race's finishing point is Pan American Plaza in Balboa Park.[10]

Past half marathon winners

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America's Kirk Pfeffer won the 1981 edition.
 
Japan's Hiromi Ominami won the women's race twice consecutively between 2007 and 2008.

Key:   Course record

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 1978   Ben Wilson (USA) 1:06:36   Marty Cooksey (USA) 1:15:04
2nd 1979   Gary Close (USA) 1:06:36   Kathy Mintie (USA) 1:14:50
3rd 1980 †   Terry Cotton (USA) 1:06:20   Laurie Binder (USA) 1:17:43
4th 1981   Kirk Pfeffer (USA) 1:02:55   Elizabeth Baker (USA) 1:17:02
5th 1982   Domingo Tibaduiza (COL) 1:03:46   Laura DeWald (USA) 1:16:55
6th 1983   Rick Musgrave (USA) 1:04:08   Nancy Ditz (USA) 1:14:31
7th 1984   Ibrahim Kivina (TAN) 1:03:36   Carol McLatchie (USA) 1:15:06
8th 1985   Jerry Kiernan (IRL) 1:03:15   Laurie Binder (USA) 1:17:43
9th 1986   Joel Hernández (MEX) 1:03:41   Terry Adams (SUI) 1:16:22
10th 1987   Marty Froelick (USA) 1:04:31   Maria Trujillo (USA) 1:15:17
11th 1988   Carlos Retiz (MEX) 1:03:40   Sylvia Mosqueda (USA) 1:11:31
12th 1989   Alejandro Cruz (MEX) 1:03:56   Maria Trujillo (USA) 1:13:41
13th 1990   José Luis Chuela (MEX) 1:04:38   Laura LaMena (USA) 1:13:00
14th 1991   Rafael Muñoz (MEX) 1:04:06   Kathleen Bowman (USA) 1:14:18
15th 1992   Jose Marcos Camargo (BRA) 1:08:36   Laura LaMena (USA) 1:16:23
16th 1993   Alfredo Vigueras (USA) 1:04:32   Maria Trujillo (USA) 1:16:17
17th 1994   Patrick Muturi (KEN) 1:03:33   Roseli Machado (BRA) 1:14:44
18th 1995   Driss Dacha (MAR) 1:05:11   Lisa Ondieki (AUS) 1:12:52
19th 1996   John Kagwe (KEN) 1:03:28   Mari Tanigawa (JPN) 1:13:11
20th 1997   Patrick Muturi (KEN) 1:02:51   Maria Trujillo (USA) 1:15:04
21st 1998   Jonathan Ndambuki (KEN) 1:03:16   Taeko Terauchi (JPN) 1:14:29
22nd 1999   Simon Sawe (KEN) 1:03:22   Tina Connelly (CAN) 1:14:04
23rd 2000   Peter Githuka Mwangi (KEN) 1:02:24   Cristina Pomacu (ROM) 1:10:44
24th 2001   Wilson Onsare (KEN) 1:02:45   Margaret Okayo (KEN) 1:10:38
25th 2002   Mbarak Hussein (KEN) 1:03:00   Sylvia Mosqueda (USA) 1:12:34
26th 2003   Kazuhiro Matsuda (JPN) 1:03:57   Silvia Skvortsova (RUS) 1:14:24
27th 2004   Joseph Matui Kiprono (KEN) 1:04:25   Alevtina Ivanova (RUS) 1:15:01
28th 2005   Nephat Kinyanjui (KEN) 1:03:18   Tatyana Chulakh (RUS) 1:13:35
29th 2006   Wilson Chebet Kwambai (KEN) 1:02:38   Tatyana Chulakh (RUS) 1:14:12
30th 2007   Nelson Kiplagat Birgen (KEN) 1:04:25   Hiromi Ominami (JPN) 1:12:49
31st 2008   Justin Young (USA) 1:05:46   Hiromi Ominami (JPN) 1:12:47
32nd 2009   Ernest Kiprugut Kebenei (KEN) 1:04:01   Belaynesh Zemedkun (ETH) 1:10:49
33rd 2010   Eskyas Sisay (ETH) 1:03:58   Belaynesh Zemedkun (ETH) 1:10:28
34th 2011   Tesfaye Sendiku Alemayehu (ETH) 1:03:44   Paula Whiting (NZL) 1:16:47
35th 2012   Weldon Kirui (KEN) 1:03:18   Mary Akor (USA) 1:17:17
36th 2013   Nelson Oyugi (KEN) 1:01:59   Wendy Thomas (USA) 1:13:15
37th 2014   Nelson Oyugi (KEN) 1:05:17   Lindsey Scherf (USA) 1:14:33
38th 2015   Kevin Kochei  (KEN) 1:04:19   Janet Bawcom (USA) 1:12:24
39th 2016   Eliud Ngetich  (KEN) 1:04:10   Jane Kibii (KEN) 1:14:47
40th 2017   Boniface Kongin (KEN) 1:03:25   Diana Kipyokei (KEN) 1:11:02
41st 2018   Juan Pacheco (MEX) 1:05:37   Jane Kibii (KEN) 1:14:25
42nd 2019   Daniel Teklebrhan  (ERI) 1:02:37   Misaki Hayashida (JPN) 1:13:45
43rd 2021   Jason Intravaia  (USA) 1:06:48   Nell Rojas (USA) 1:11:43
44th 2022    Chad Hall (USA) 1:05:12   Sophie Payne (USA) 1:19:00
  • † = The 1980 course was mis-marked and was around 800 metres longer than the true half marathon distance.

Statistics

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References

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  1. ^ City of San Diego website
  2. ^ Scott, Steve (1985-08-26). Kiernan Beats Heat to Win AFC Half Marathon. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-09-23.
  3. ^ Parenti, Jeffrey (1988-08-22). Fast Times at Half Marathon: Three Women Beat Record. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-09-23.
  4. ^ Geis, John (1990-08-18). Swai Hopes Comeback Trail Includes Victory in Half Marathon. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-09-23.
  5. ^ Geis, John (1992-08-15). Half Marathon Runs for Its Financial Life. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-09-23.
  6. ^ Oprah Enters a Half Marathon. The Tuscaloosa News (1993-08-18). Retrieved on 2010-09-23.
  7. ^ Malloy, Patrice (2010-08-16). Ethiopian Couple Wins America's Finest City Half Marathon Archived 2010-09-06 at the Wayback Machine. Running USA/Cool Running. Retrieved on 2010-09-23.
  8. ^ Thien, Glae (2010-08-16). Ethiopians win San Diego Half Marathon. Ethiopian Review/San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved on 2010-09-22.
  9. ^ Top Times for the America's Finest City Half Marathon. America's Finest City Half Marathon. Retrieved on 2010-09-24.
  10. ^ Course Map. America's Finest City Half Marathon. Retrieved on 2010-09-23.
List of winners
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