America’s Finest City Half Marathon : Mexico’s Joel Hernandez Is the Unexpected Winner

Joel Hernandez, the surprise winner of America’s Finest City Half Marathon Sunday, not only thinks that San Diego is America’s finest city. To him, it’s America’s only city.

On Saturday, he flew out of Zacatecas, Mexico, and arrived in the United States for the first time. The next day, the 45th-seeded runner finished the course in 1 hour, 3.41 seconds to win his first race in the United States.

Terry Schmidt-Puckett of Reno, who was seeded seventh, won the women’s title in 1:16.22.

But she didn’t cause the stir that Hernandez caused.

“I didn’t even know who he was,” said Don Janicki, who finished second when he was outkicked by Hernandez in the final two miles.

“What’s his name?” asked Benji Durden, who finished eighth.

Hernandez, 22, trains by running in the hills, benefitting from the high altitude in the town of Nieves, a city of approximately 8,000 that is a two-hour drive from the city of Zacatecas.

Hernandez, who says he has won around 75 races in Mexico, was wearing a shirt from the “Athletic Club of Zacatecas.”

It was through the athletic club that Hernandez found a friend to bring him to San Diego.

“I saw him run in Mexico,” said Guillermo Zesati, 42, who lives in Zacatecas and also owns a summer home in Del Mar. “The running club got together and got money for him to come here. We raised money through races we ran down there.”

When he got to San Diego, Hernandez said he immediately checked out the course. Then he almost missed the race.

Buses were scheduled to take runners from Balboa Park to the starting line at the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma from 4:30 to 6 Sunday morning. Fortunately for Hernandez, the buses were running late because he and his friend Zesati were running late in the traffic from Del Mar. It was nearly 6:45 when he caught one of the last buses to Point Loma.

“I really thought I’d be late,” said Hernandez, who spoke through a translator. “I was worried I wouldn’t get there in time.”

However, in a foreshadowing of strange happenings, the race was delayed 31 minutes because the orange cones had not been properly set up throughout the course.

By the time the anxious throng of approximately 6,000 runners took off at 7:31, the sun had come up and Hernandez was warmed up.

Hernandez immediately broke to the front. Through the first three miles, he shared the lead with a pack of nine runners.

As they headed past the three-mile mark, top-seeded Kirk Pfeffer held a narrow lead over Hernandez, who was running very smoothly and was obviously content to stay on the heels of the leader.

“I came with the idea of winning,” said Hernandez, whose personal best in the half marathon is a 1:02.36 in a race run in Leon. “By the third mile, I knew I had a pretty good chance.”

In a field lacking world class runners, Pfeffer and Hernandez remained 1-2 until the runners came to Harbor Island. During their short run around the island, Janicki came from a pack of runners to take the lead. Pfeffer, who is still recovering from a stress fracture, fell to third.

From that point on, it was a two-man race between Janicki and Hernandez.

“I really thought I could win when I took the lead after eight miles,” said Janicki, who finished third in the AFC Half Marathon last year and second in 1984. “But I think he (Hernandez) ran a smart race.”

Hernandez was continually breathing down Janicki’s neck but refused to overtake him. He stayed an arm’s length behind Janicki, who could not see Hernandez but could definitely feel his presence.

“I wanted him to take the lead,” Janicki said. “He was tagging behind me. It was frustrating trying to shake him.”

Said Hernandez: “I knew exactly what I was doing all through the run.”

Hernandez took the lead for good when he blew by Janicki at the intersection of Kettner Boulevard and A Street. In the final 1 1/2 miles, Hernandez extended his lead despite having to dodge a pedestrian who walked right in front of him at Fifth Avenue and A Street.