NYC Marathon winner speaks to his hometown San Diego

Read related: San Diego High School alum Keflezighi wins NYC marathon

Meb was happy to be home and celebrate with the crowd, made up mostly of San Diego running enthusiasts, former coaches, running partners, and fans.

“You can read, you can practice, you can visualize all you want, but to actually do it… even more so, to wear that U.S.A. jersey,” Meb said.

Meb, a San Diego High School alumnus became the first American man since 1982 to win the New York City marathon on Sunday.

Born in Eritrea, the 34-year-old runner became a U.S. citizen in 1998. He was second in New York in 2004 and third in 2005. Wearing “U.S.A.” on the front of his jersey, Keflezighi won in two hours, nine minutes, 15 seconds.

Keflezighi’s first marathon victory caps a stirring comeback for the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, who underwent 18 months of therapy on a stress fracture in his hip.  Keflezighi’s results in 2009 have included: U.S. championships, victories and personal bests in the marathon, half-marathon, cross country and in the seven-mile distances.

City News Service and Associated Press contributed to this article.

Tags: Balboa Park, first, Gold, hall of champions, Meb, Meb Keflezighi, new york marathon, race, running, SDNN, Uncategorized, winner

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