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 ==