# America's Finest City Half Marathon

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.) It was established in 1978. The event includes a 5K run.

## History

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. 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. The race's 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 talk show 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 Belaynesh Zemedkun topped the men's and women's fields respectively.
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. 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

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.

## Past half marathon winners

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.