Cruz Holds Off Janicki to Win Race

It was age against youth, experience against exuberance. It was Don Janicki, 29, huffing and puffing as he tried to keep up with Alejandro Cruz, 21, in the 12th America’s Finest City Home Federal Half Marathon Sunday.

This time Janicki, who had finished second all four times he competed in the approximately 13.1-mile race, was maintaining pace with Cruz.

Then came the climb up Sixth Street from downtown to Balboa Park at about the 12-mile mark. Cruz kicked in and Janicki caved in.

The result was a 30-second gap between Cruz’s winning time of 1 hour three minutes 56 seconds and Janicki’s second-place finish of 1:04:26.

Cruz expected to win, but he also expected to set a course record. He didn’t even come close to Kirk Pfeffer’s 1981 mark of 1:02:55.

“I didn’t run that great, I didn’t run that bad,” Cruz said through Rich Castro, his interpreter and agent. “But I won.”

The first woman to finish Sunday also was shy of the course record. Maria Trujillo, 29, of Scottsdale, Ariz., finished in 1:13:41, more than two minutes from Sylvia Mosqueda’s 1988 record of 1:11:31. Trujillo was well ahead of second-place finisher Maureen Roben of Denver, who finished at 1:14:24.

Because Trujillo was a repeat winner (she finished first in 1987), she received a $500 bonus in addition to the $1,310 for finishing first.

But the race everyone focused on was the duel between Cruz of Mexico City and Janicki of Tucson.

Janicki decided to make his move near the seven-mile mark along Harbor Island. At that point, Cruz maintained a 22-second lead.

“In the past, I’ve always run well on Harbor Island,” Janicki said. “This year was no different. I saw he was coming back a bit, so I thought if he’s coming back, let’s go for him.”

By the time Cruz reached the nine-mile mark, Janicki was at his side. Yet Janicki gave Cruz a clue that he may not stay close.

“Janicki sounded a little winded when he first caught me,” Cruz said. “So I thought I better wait to make a move till I hit the hill.”

Cruz allowed Janicki to take the lead, albeit a meager two-to-three-stride lead.

“At nine miles, I just said, ‘I got to go. I got to put him away now if I’m going to do it,’ ” said Janicki.

So Janicki shifted gears, but Cruz tucked in right behind the leader. And when the Sixth Avenue ascent came, it was all over.

“I kind of figured he’d make that surge,” Janicki said. “I tried to go with him, but I think he sensed I was hurting.”

Cruz, too, was reeling just a bit. Having never run the race before, he didn’t really know what to expect and made the mistake of going all out on the downhill portion of the course (the second through sixth miles).

“I never really went out that early so fast all alone before,” Cruz said. “So maybe that cost me (a shot at the course record).”

Michael Musyoki of Kenya, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the 10,000 meters, finished third at 1:04:54. Mary Alico of Eugene, Ore., was third in the women’s race at 1:14.56.

The top San Diego finisher was Charlotte Thomas, who placed fifth in the women’s race at 1:16:10.

Six thousand runners competed in the event.