America's Finest City Half Marathon is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance which is held in mid-August on the streets of San Diego, California. 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 hostOprah 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. 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 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 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. 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 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.
Past half marathon winners
Key:
Edition
Year
Men's winner
Time
Women's winner
Time
-
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
-
34th
2011
1:03:44
1:16:47
-
35th
2012
1:03:18
1:17:17
-
36th
2013
1:01:59
1:13:15
-
37th
2014
1:05:17
1:14:33
-
38th
2015
1:04:19
1:12:24
39th
2016
1:04:10
1:14:47
-
40th
2017
1:03:25
1:11:02
-
41st
2018
1:05:37
1:14:25
-
† = The 1980 course was mis-marked and was around 800 metres longer than the true half marathon distance.
