Meb Keflezighi, the Olympian and Boston Marathon winner, will return to his hometown streets of San Diego to run the Suja Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon on Sunday, May 31, organizers said Wednesday.
The 13.1-mile race also serves as the USATF Masters Half Marathon National Championships. He previously won the half-marathon in 2011 and 2012.
Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist, turned 40 on May 5. The listed American record for the half-marathon in his age group is 1 hour, 3 minutes and 23 seconds by Mbarak Hussein. Ethiopia’s Haile Gebreselasie has a world best of 1:00:41 for the 40-44 age group.
Prize money of $10,000 will be awarded in the masters half-marathon.
In 2013 the event produced the fastest half-marathon ever on U.S. soil when Kenya’s Bernard Koech won in 58:41.
“I was debating whether I should pace the Suja Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon like I did last year or race it,” says Keflezighi, who finished eighth at the Boston Marathon last month in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 42 seconds.
“Since my recovery from the Boston Marathon has gone well, I’ve decided to race. I am looking forward to my first competition as a masters athlete and know I am very fortunate to run my first masters race in my hometown of San Diego.”
The San Diego High School graduate was a 12-time All-American at UCLA, won 22 U.S. National Championships and earned a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Most notably, Keflezighi won the 2014 Boston Marathon, becoming the first American man to win the historic running event since 1983.
For the first time in 2015, marathon weekend in San Diego will include two days of running with the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll 5K taking place on Saturday morning, May 30.
Runners who take part in Saturday’s 5K along with Sunday’s marathon, half-marathon or relay will receive a medal for each race, plus the coveted Remix Challenge medal, earning three medals for two-races.
Marathon weekend kicks off on Friday, May 29, with a two-day Health & Fitness Expo at the San Diego Convention Center. The Expo is free and open to the public, and takes place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30.
Both the marathon and half-marathon take place on Sunday, beginning on the west side of Balboa Park. The marathon begins at 6:15 a.m. and the half-marathon starts at 6:50 a.m.
The race passes through Little Italy, Old Town, University Heights and Normal Heights before ending at Petco Park at 13th and K Street, with a finish line festival.
The weekend experience concludes the Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Concert Series inside the stadium headlined by rock band O.A.R..
In addition to O.A.R.’s performance, runners will also enjoy the sounds of local live bands playing along the course as motivation and entertainment, along with cheerleaders and thousands of encouraging spectators.
For more information or to register for the event, visit RunRocknRoll.com and follow the event on Twitter@RunRocknRoll.
