The third edition of the Binational Race San Diego-Tijuana takes place on Sunday and, for the first time, features three separate distances, two of which are cross-border events.
Participants can choose between the 21-kilometer half marathon, the 12-kilometer race — both starting at the Las Américas shopping center in San Diego’s San Ysidro neighborhood — or the 10-kilometer race, which starts in Tijuana.
Organizers Benjamin Castillo and Valeria Rivera anticipate that 4,500 runners from both sides of the border will participate, twice as many as took part in 2025 and three times as many as the 1,500 entrants in the inaugural event in 2024.
Approximately 3,000 runners will compete in the half marathon, another 1,000 in the 12K and 500 others will run the 10K. Also, about 150 volunteers (50 on the U.S. side and 100 in Mexico) will be on hand to assist participants throughout the day.
Castillo voiced confidence that the event will become a permanent fixture on the race calendar. Registration for next year’s race on Oct. 24, 2027, will open this weekend.
More than a race, organizers say the Binational Race was created to celebrate cross-border culture, unity and friendship and seeks to promote social, athletic and community exchange between San Diego and Tijuana.
San Diego city officials enthusiastically endorsed the idea when first promoted by local runners, community organizers and advocates. Their support was mirrored in Tijuana, where local leaders and organizations jumped on board to ensure the race could showcase the best of both cities.
Castillo told MND that the support of local officials on both sides of the border has been “fundamental” in arranging race logistics, adding that “at no point have they presented obstacles.”
The event partners with regional nonprofits and charities on both sides of the border, including Laboratorios Delia Barraza, the Xolos de Tijuana soccer club, Coca-Cola, Univisión, Casa Familiar, Fundación Castro Limón, the Emilio Nares Foundation as well as “mile sponsors.”
Where will they be running?
The half marathon begins at 6:50 a.m., while the 12K and the 10K start at 8:30 a.m. The finish line for all three races is at the Playas de Tijuana Lighthouse.
After starting outside the Las Americas Premium Outlets, the half-marathon course enters San Diego’s scenic Tijuana River Valley Regional Park around the 5-kilometer mark (allowing participants to run amid rare coastal sand dunes, salt marshes and riparian forests), before reaching the border at kilometer 10.
Here, runners utilize a designated lane to pass through the San Ysidro–El Chaparral international checkpoint into Mexico — the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere — where they will be greeted by a traditional mariachi band.
From the Tijuana Viaduct, runners are rewarded with panoramic views of San Diego before facing the biggest physical challenge of the course: Enchilada Hill. Once conquering that climb, the final 5 kilometers are a fast, downhill run to Playas de Tijuana.
The San Diego-Tijuana Binational Race is the longest U.S.-Mexico cross-border race.
El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, hold an annual 10K race (the 8th edition will take place on April 4, 2027), while Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, sponsored the Dos Laredos Binational Marathon in 2024 and 2025, but have not held another race.
With reports from SanDiego.org, San Diego Magazine, Zeta and KSDY Noticias