document: While more than a thousand runners were treated to an evening of comedy , music and magic at Saturday night 's carbo load dinner on Mission Bay , Ernesto Beatriz Martinez of Mexico City was treated to a bumpy 12 1/2 - hour bus ride from his hometown to border town Tijuana . Not until early Sunday morning did Beatriz Martinez , 29 , cross the U.S. / Mexican border to register for , then reach the starting line of , the San Diego International Marathon on East Mission Bay Drive . His recovery was simply amazing . Two hours , 16 minutes and 12 seconds later , in only his second marathon -- his first was this event last year when he finished eighth -- Beatriz Martinez crossed the finish line 39 seconds ahead of South African Mark Plaatjes , now of Lake Forest , Ill. . `` I was n't 100 % sure I 'd win , '' he said through an interpreter , `` but I had much confidence that I 'd do well . I was well prepared . '' Marie Rollins , a member of the 1988 Irish Olympic team and now of Glendale , kicked her race up a gear after the 16th mile and won the women 's race in 2:39:05 , handily defeating hometown favorite Mindy Ireland -LRB- 2:42:18 -RRB- of Escondido . It was the first marathon Rollins has completed this year , after dropping out of the New York City Marathon four weeks ago in mile 18 because of stomach cramps . `` The main thing was to feel the best I could , '' said Rollins , 30 . `` I went out real conservative , I ran my own race and it paid off . '' Indeed it did . Beatriz Martinez and Rollins received $ 5,000 each for their victories . And for Beatriz Martinez , who ran cross country for San Diego City College in 1988 , he might as well have won the lottery . This was a man who earlier this week was running in tattered shoes and had a TV raffled in his honor to raise the $ 180 required to cover transportation , the entrance fee and other expenses . `` I want to help my family and friends who raised the money for me , '' said Beatriz Martinez , a school teacher in Mexico City . `` My family , they are very poor . '' Plaatjes and Ireland took home $ 2,500 each , and Maurilio Castillo -LRB- 2:18:06 -RRB- of Naucalpan , Mexico , the men 's third place finisher , and Great Britian 's Gillian Horovitz -LRB- 2:43:20 -RRB- , now of New York City , third in the women 's race , received $ 1,500 . Doug Kurtis of Detroit was successful in his bid to run his 12th marathon in a calendar year under 2 hours , 20 minutes . His 2:18:16 finish set a world record . Kurtis was originally awarded third place , but miscommunication somewhere along the 26.2-mile course gave Castillo third in his first marathon and moved Kurtis to fourth . Castillo was entered in the accompanying half marathon , but he and Pedro Casillas missed that races ' turn at just over the mile mark and mistakenly followed the longer route . According to Dr. Bill Burke , co-owner of the marathon , Castillo was told several times that he was running the marathon course , but he decided to continue . `` I traveled too much to get here to go home and say I went the wrong way , '' Castillo said , also using an interpreter . There was some question that Castillo had n't finished the entire race as reporters and photographers on the lead vehicle did n't see him for several miles . But Plaatjes said it was because he and Casillas , who eventually dropped out at mile 18 , were so far ahead of the lead pack of Plaatjes , Danny Bustos , Dick LeDoux , Kurtis and Leodigard Martin . `` We saw them way ahead of us , '' said Plaatjes . `` I told them -LRB- Bustos , LeDoux and Martin -RRB- not to worry about me , I 'm not racing , but they better go catch the other guys . The first time we caught them was at 18 miles . '' Said Burke : `` My position is that he paid the same fee , he ran the same race and he finished the race . '' Although the city did n't allow any vehicles on the course from miles 18-22 , Burke said cameras would verify that he did cover the complete distance . Bustos of Las Vegas , N.M. , led for the first 14 miles , followed closely by Plaatjes , Beatriz Martinez and LeDoux . But Beatriz Martinez took the lead at 23 miles and Plaatjes could n't close the gap . Rollins and Ireland ran together for 11 miles until Kathy Smith of Irvine took the lead for miles 12-17 . Rollins reeled Smith in gradually and took the lead for the remainder . Marathon Notes Marie Rollins ' time is the fourth best for women in San Diego-area marathon history and breaks Chantal Best 's 1988 race record of 2:42:22 . Best decided late Saturday to run the marathon , but dropped out after 18 miles ... There were 6,014 entries for the marathon -LRB- 3,056 -RRB- and half marathon -LRB- 2,958 -RRB- ... San Diego 's Steve McCormack finished sixth , 10 minutes behind fifth place LeDoux , with a 2:29:08 ... Jeffrey Holyfield of San Diego won the men 's half marathon in 1:07:44 , and Katie Webb of Escondido was the women 's winner in 1:21:46 ... . Bill Fricke of Los Angeles won the wheelchair marathon in 1:55:30 and 14-year-old Eric Neitzel of San Diego , recent winner of the Mission Bay 25K , won the wheelchair half marathon in 1:13:14 .
extractive_keyphrases: san diego international marathon ernesto beatriz martinez runners marie rollins mexico city marathon course