America's Finest City Half Marathon
Encyclopedia
America's Finest City Half Marathon is an annual road running
event over the half marathon
distance 21.0975 kilometres (13.1 mi) which is held in mid-August on the streets of San Diego, California
. ("America's Finest City" is the official nickname of the city of San Diego.) The race 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. Both men and women are able to enter into the half marathon and shorter 5 kilometer fun run
.
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 non-profit organization. The race was sponsored by the Home Federal Bank
in the 1980s and early 1990s. The organizers endured financial difficulties in 1992 after the loss of its title sponsor. The race remained popular, however, and the following year over five thousand runners took part; among them was television host Oprah Winfrey
, running under the pseudonym "Bobbi Jo Jenkins" and accompanied by a bodyguard, a trainer, and a video crew. 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. That year, Ethiopian training partners Ezkyas Sisay and Belainesh Gebre topped the men's and women's fields respectively.
The course of the half marathon has a point-to-point format. It starts on the Point Loma Peninsula next to the 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 the Star of India
museum ship
and San Diego Broadway. It traces a path northwards at this point, heading along Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street on its way to Downtown San Diego. The race finishing point is Pan American Plaza in Balboa Park.
Kenyan Peter Githuka Mwangi holds the men's half marathon course record of 1:02:24, while Belaynesh Gebre is the women's record holder with her time of 1:10:28. The men's race over the distance has been dominated by Kenyans, with 13 wins since the mid-1990s, but Americans are historically strong on the women's side with seventeen 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.
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
event over the half marathon
Half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
distance 21.0975 kilometres (13.1 mi) which is held in mid-August on the streets of San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. ("America's Finest City" is the official nickname of the city of San Diego.) The race 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. Both men and women are able to enter into the half marathon and shorter 5 kilometer fun run
Fun run
A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors providing the revenue to cover organisational costs...
.
The race is used to raise money for the American Lung Association
American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.-History:...
and in its first fourteen years of existence it had cumulatively raised US$1.7 million for the non-profit organization. The race was sponsored by the Home Federal Bank
Home Federal Bank
Home Federal Bank is a financial services company, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It operates 32 branch locations in 19 communities throughout parts of South Dakota and Minnesota....
in the 1980s and early 1990s. The organizers endured financial difficulties in 1992 after the loss of its title sponsor. The race remained popular, however, and the following year over five thousand runners took part; among them was television host Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
, running under the pseudonym "Bobbi Jo Jenkins" and accompanied by a bodyguard, a trainer, and a video crew. 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. That year, Ethiopian training partners Ezkyas Sisay and Belainesh Gebre topped the men's and women's fields respectively.
The course of the half marathon has a point-to-point format. It starts on the Point Loma Peninsula next to the Cabrillo National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument is located at the southern tip of the Point Loma Peninsula in San Diego, California. It commemorates the landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542. This event marked the first time that a European expedition had set foot on what later...
– some 300 feet (91 m) above sea-level. The course heads north and descends towards San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
. Turning eastwards onto North Harbor Drive, the race enters a flat straight around the five mile (8 km) mark. After looping around Harbor Island
Harbor Island, San Diego
Harbor Island is a man-made peninsula in San Diego Bay in San Diego, California. It was built in 1961 from harbor dredgings. It lies between Shelter Island and Downtown San Diego, directly across Harbor Drive from San Diego Airport. It is long and only a few hundred feet wide...
the course heads south, passing near the Star of India
Star of India (ship)
Star of India was built in 1863 as Euterpe, a full-rigged iron windjammer ship in Ramsey, Isle of Man. After a full career sailing from Great Britain to India and New Zealand, she became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route...
museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
and San Diego Broadway. It traces a path northwards at this point, heading along Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street on its way to Downtown San Diego. The race finishing point is Pan American Plaza in Balboa Park.
Kenyan Peter Githuka Mwangi holds the men's half marathon course record of 1:02:24, while Belaynesh Gebre is the women's record holder with her time of 1:10:28. The men's race over the distance has been dominated by Kenyans, with 13 wins since the mid-1990s, but Americans are historically strong on the women's side with seventeen race wins. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
María Trujillo
María Trujillo Tenorio de Rios is a retired female marathon runner from Mexico, who later represented the United States. She won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 1995 Pan American Games...
has the most wins to her name, having won the race on four occasions.
Past half marathon winners
Key:| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h:min:s) | Women's winner | Time (h:min:s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1978 | 1:06:36 | 1:15:04 | ||
| 2nd | 1979 | 1:06:36 | 1:14:50 | ||
| 3rd | 1980 † | 1:06:20 | 1:17:43 | ||
| 4th | 1981 | 1:02:55 | 1:17:02 | ||
| 5th | 1982 | 1:03:46 | 1:16:55 | ||
| 6th | 1983 | 1:04:08 | 1:14:31 | ||
| 7th | 1984 | 1:03:36 | 1:15:06 | ||
| 8th | 1985 | 1:03:15 | 1:17:43 | ||
| 9th | 1986 | 1:03:41 | 1:16:22 | ||
| 10th | 1987 | 1:04:31 | 1:15:17 | ||
| 11th | 1988 | 1:03:40 | 1:11:31 | ||
| 12th | 1989 | 1:03:56 | 1:13:41 | ||
| 13th | 1990 | 1:04:38 | 1:13:00 | ||
| 14th | 1991 | 1:04:06 | 1:14:18 | ||
| 15th | 1992 | 1:08:36 | 1:16:23 | ||
| 16th | 1993 | 1:04:32 | 1:16:17 | ||
| 17th | 1994 | 1:03:33 | 1:14:44 | ||
| 18th | 1995 | 1:05:11 | 1:12:52 | ||
| 19th | 1996 | 1:03:28 | 1:13:11 | ||
| 20th | 1997 | 1:02:51 | 1:15:04 | ||
| 21st | 1998 | 1:03:16 | 1:14:29 | ||
| 22nd | 1999 | 1:03:22 | 1:14:04 | ||
| 23rd | 2000 | 1:02:24 | 1:10:44 | ||
| 24th | 2001 | 1:02:45 | 1:10:38 | ||
| 25th | 2002 | 1:03:00 | 1:12:34 | ||
| 26th | 2003 | 1:03:57 | 1:14:24 | ||
| 27th | 2004 | 1:04:25 | 1:15:01 | ||
| 28th | 2005 | 1:03:18 | 1:13:35 | ||
| 29th | 2006 | 1:02:38 | 1:14:12 | ||
| 30th | 2007 | 1:04:25 | 1:12:49 | ||
| 31st | 2008 | 1:05:46 | 1:12:47 | ||
| 32nd | 2009 | 1:04:01 | 1:10:49 | ||
| 33rd | 2010 | 1:03:58 | 1:10:28 |
- † = The 1980 course was mis-marked and was around 800 metres longer than the true half marathon distance.
Winners by country
| Country | Men's race | Women's race | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 17 | 25 | |
| 13 | 1 | 14 | |
| 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| 5 | 0 | 5 | |
| 0 | 4 | 4 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 |
Multiple winners
| Athlete | Country | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Muturi | 2 | 1994, 1997 | |
| Maria Trujillo María Trujillo María Trujillo Tenorio de Rios is a retired female marathon runner from Mexico, who later represented the United States. She won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 1995 Pan American Games... |
4 | 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997 | |
| Laurie Binder Laurie Binder Laurie Binder is an American long distance runner. She is a former American record holder in the Marathon, 2:35:08 set in 1982... |
2 | 1980, 1985 | |
| Laura LaMena | 2 | 1990, 1992 | |
| Sylvia Mosqueda Sylvia Mosqueda Sylvia Mosqueda is an American long distance runner notable for hard front running over an extended career at an elite level.-Early Success:... |
2 | 1988, 2002 | |
| Tatyana Chulakh | 2 | 2005, 2006 | |
| Hiromi Ominami Hiromi Ominami Hiromi Ominami is a Japanese long-distance runner. Her twin sister is Takami Ominami, also a world class marathon runner with a personal best of 2:23:43.-Achievements:... |
2 | 2007, 2008 | |
| Belaynesh Zemedken Gebre | 2 | 2009, 2010 |