America's Finest City Half Marathon is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance 21.0975 kilometres (13.1094 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.[1]) 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.[2] Both men and women are able to enter into the half marathon and shorter 5 kilometer fun run.[3]
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.[4][5] The organizers endured financial difficulties in 1992 after the loss of its title sponsor.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] That year, Ethiopian training partners Ezkyas Sisay and Belaynesh Zemedkun topped the men's and women's fields respectively.[9]
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 Indiamuseum 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.[10]
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.[11] 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.
A virtual race was held in 2020, and entrants were given the option to get either a refund or defer their entry to 2021.
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America s Finest City Half Marathon is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance 21 0975 kilometres 13 1094 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 1 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 2 Both men and women are able to enter into the half marathon and shorter 5 kilometer fun run 3 America s Finest City Half MarathonThe Cabrillo National Monument is the race start pointDateAugustLocationSan DiegoEvent typeRoadDistanceHalf marathonEstablished1978Official siteAmerica s Finest City Half MarathonThe 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 4 5 The organizers endured financial difficulties in 1992 after the loss of its title sponsor 6 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 7 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 8 That year Ethiopian training partners Ezkyas Sisay and Belaynesh Zemedkun topped the men s and women s fields respectively 9 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 10 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 11 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 A virtual race was held in 2020 and entrants were given the option to get either a refund or defer their entry to 2021 Contents 1 Past half marathon winners 2 Statistics 2 1 Winners by country 2 2 Multiple winners 3 References 4 External linksPast half marathon winners edit nbsp America s Kirk Pfeffer won the 1981 edition nbsp 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 nbsp Ben Wilson USA 1 06 36 nbsp Marty Cooksey USA 1 15 042nd 1979 nbsp Gary Close USA 1 06 36 nbsp Kathy Mintie USA 1 14 503rd 1980 nbsp Terry Cotton USA 1 06 20 nbsp Laurie Binder USA 1 17 434th 1981 nbsp Kirk Pfeffer USA 1 02 55 nbsp Elizabeth Baker USA 1 17 025th 1982 nbsp Domingo Tibaduiza COL 1 03 46 nbsp Laura DeWald USA 1 16 556th 1983 nbsp Rick Musgrave USA 1 04 08 nbsp Nancy Ditz USA 1 14 317th 1984 nbsp Ibrahim Kivina TAN 1 03 36 nbsp Carol McLatchie USA 1 15 068th 1985 nbsp Jerry Kiernan IRL 1 03 15 nbsp Laurie Binder USA 1 17 439th 1986 nbsp Joel Hernandez MEX 1 03 41 nbsp Terry Adams SUI 1 16 2210th 1987 nbsp Marty Froelick USA 1 04 31 nbsp Maria Trujillo USA 1 15 1711th 1988 nbsp Carlos Retiz MEX 1 03 40 nbsp Sylvia Mosqueda USA 1 11 3112th 1989 nbsp Alejandro Cruz MEX 1 03 56 nbsp Maria Trujillo USA 1 13 4113th 1990 nbsp Jose Luis Chuela MEX 1 04 38 nbsp Laura LaMena USA 1 13 0014th 1991 nbsp Rafael Munoz MEX 1 04 06 nbsp Kathleen Bowman USA 1 14 1815th 1992 nbsp Jose Marcos Camargo BRA 1 08 36 nbsp Laura LaMena USA 1 16 2316th 1993 nbsp Alfredo Vigueras USA 1 04 32 nbsp Maria Trujillo USA 1 16 1717th 1994 nbsp Patrick Muturi KEN 1 03 33 nbsp Roseli Machado BRA 1 14 4418th 1995 nbsp Driss Dacha MAR 1 05 11 nbsp Lisa Ondieki AUS 1 12 5219th 1996 nbsp John Kagwe KEN 1 03 28 nbsp Mari Tanigawa JPN 1 13 1120th 1997 nbsp Patrick Muturi KEN 1 02 51 nbsp Maria Trujillo USA 1 15 0421st 1998 nbsp Jonathan Ndambuki KEN 1 03 16 nbsp Taeko Terauchi JPN 1 14 2922nd 1999 nbsp Simon Sawe KEN 1 03 22 nbsp Tina Connelly CAN 1 14 0423rd 2000 nbsp Peter Githuka Mwangi KEN 1 02 24 nbsp Cristina Pomacu ROM 1 10 4424th 2001 nbsp Wilson Onsare KEN 1 02 45 nbsp Margaret Okayo KEN 1 10 3825th 2002 nbsp Mbarak Hussein KEN 1 03 00 nbsp Sylvia Mosqueda USA 1 12 3426th 2003 nbsp Kazuhiro Matsuda JPN 1 03 57 nbsp Silvia Skvortsova RUS 1 14 2427th 2004 nbsp Joseph Matui Kiprono KEN 1 04 25 nbsp Alevtina Ivanova RUS 1 15 0128th 2005 nbsp Nephat Kinyanjui KEN 1 03 18 nbsp Tatyana Chulakh RUS 1 13 3529th 2006 nbsp Wilson Chebet Kwambai KEN 1 02 38 nbsp Tatyana Chulakh RUS 1 14 1230th 2007 nbsp Nelson Kiplagat Birgen KEN 1 04 25 nbsp Hiromi Ominami JPN 1 12 4931st 2008 nbsp Justin Young USA 1 05 46 nbsp Hiromi Ominami JPN 1 12 4732nd 2009 nbsp Ernest Kiprugut Kebenei KEN 1 04 01 nbsp Belaynesh Zemedkun ETH 1 10 4933rd 2010 nbsp Eskyas Sisay ETH 1 03 58 nbsp Belaynesh Zemedkun ETH 1 10 2834th 2011 nbsp Tesfaye Sendiku Alemayehu ETH 1 03 44 nbsp Paula Whiting NZL 1 16 4735th 2012 nbsp Weldon Kirui KEN 1 03 18 nbsp Mary Akor USA 1 17 1736th 2013 nbsp Nelson Oyugi KEN 1 01 59 nbsp Wendy Thomas USA 1 13 1537th 2014 nbsp Nelson Oyugi KEN 1 05 17 nbsp Lindsey Scherf USA 1 14 3338th 2015 nbsp Kevin Kochei KEN 1 04 19 nbsp Janet Bawcom USA 1 12 2439th 2016 nbsp Eliud Ngetich KEN 1 04 10 nbsp Jane Kibii KEN 1 14 4740th 2017 nbsp Boniface Kongin KEN 1 03 25 nbsp Diana Kipyokei KEN 1 11 0241st 2018 nbsp Juan Pacheco MEX 1 05 37 nbsp Jane Kibii KEN 1 14 2542nd 2019 nbsp Daniel Teklebrhan ERI 1 02 37 nbsp Misaki Hayashida JPN 1 13 4543rd 2021 nbsp Jason Intravaia USA 1 06 48 nbsp Nell Rojas USA 1 11 4344th 2022 nbsp Chad Hall USA 1 05 12 nbsp 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 editWinners by country edit Country Men s race Women s race Total nbsp United States 10 22 31 nbsp Kenya 18 4 22 nbsp Mexico 6 0 6 nbsp Japan 1 5 6 nbsp Russia 0 4 4 nbsp Ethiopia 2 2 4 nbsp Brazil 1 1 2 nbsp Australia 0 1 1 nbsp Canada 0 1 1 nbsp Colombia 1 0 1 nbsp Ireland 1 0 1 nbsp Morocco 1 0 1 nbsp New Zealand 0 1 1 nbsp Romania 0 1 1 nbsp Switzerland 0 1 1 nbsp Tanzania 1 0 1 nbsp Eritrea 0 1 1 Multiple winners edit Athlete Country Wins YearsPatrick Muturi nbsp Kenya 2 1994 1997Maria Trujillo nbsp United States 4 1987 1989 1993 1997Laurie Binder nbsp United States 2 1980 1985Laura LaMena nbsp United States 2 1990 1992Sylvia Mosqueda nbsp United States 2 1988 2002Tatyana Chulakh nbsp Russia 2 2005 2006Hiromi Ominami nbsp Japan 2 2007 2008Belaynesh Zemedkun nbsp Ethiopia 2 2009 2010Nelson Oyugi nbsp Kenya 2 2013 2014Jane Kibii nbsp Kenya 2 2016 2018References edit City of San Diego website Scott Steve 1985 08 26 Kiernan Beats Heat to Win AFC Half Marathon Los Angeles Times Retrieved on 2010 09 23 Frequently Asked Questions America s Finest City Half Marathon Retrieved on 2010 09 23 Parenti Jeffrey 1988 08 22 Fast Times at Half Marathon Three Women Beat Record Los Angeles Times Retrieved on 2010 09 23 Geis John 1990 08 18 Swai Hopes Comeback Trail Includes Victory in Half Marathon Los Angeles Times Retrieved on 2010 09 23 Geis John 1992 08 15 Half Marathon Runs for Its Financial Life Los Angeles Times Retrieved on 2010 09 23 Oprah Enters a Half Marathon The Tuscaloosa News 1993 08 18 Retrieved on 2010 09 23 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 Thien Glae 2010 08 16 Ethiopians win San Diego Half Marathon Ethiopian Review San Diego Union Tribune Retrieved on 2010 09 22 Course Map America s Finest City Half Marathon Retrieved on 2010 09 23 Top Times for the America s Finest City Half Marathon America s Finest City Half Marathon Retrieved on 2010 09 24 List of winnersLeydig Jack 2010 08 16 America s Finest City Half Marathon Association of Road Racing Statisticians Retrieved on 2010 09 23 External links edit nbsp California portalOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title America 27s Finest City Half Marathon amp oldid 1151718564, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
