Alejandro Cruz (born February 10, 1968) is a Mexican former marathoner and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

. He competed during the 1980s to 2000s in the

World Marathon Majors The World Marathon Majors (WMM) (known for sponsorship reasons as the Abbott World Marathon Majors) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races recog ...

. He won the 1988

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Races, World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago ...

with a time of 2:08:57. At the age of twenty, Cruz's 1988 win made him the youngest man and first Mexican to win the Chicago Marathon. In later Chicago Marathons, Cruz placed fourth in 1994 and did not finish the 1998 edition. Cruz also finished 4th at the 1991

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ...

and 23rd at the 1993

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

. At other marathon events, Cruz placed 5th at the

1995 Summer Universiade The 1995 Summer Universiade, also known as the XVIII Summer Universiade, took place in Fukuoka, Japan. Emblem The symbol mark is a motif of "U", expressing passion and energy in the flickering flames of a burning torch. In the flames one sees bo ...

and 42nd at the

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and Augu ...

. In overall points, Cruz was first in the 1993 ''

Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before its acquisition by Hearst, it was founded and published by Rodale, Inc. in E ...

'' men's rankings based on his 1992 race finishes. Cruz continued to run primarily in North America until his last marathon in 2009.

Biography

Cruz was born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

, Mexico, on February 10, 1968. As a child, he played association football before becoming a runner at the age of seventeen. For his races, Cruz competed in multiple disciplines ranging from 10 km to the marathon. Cruz started his marathon career in Mexico before entering his first American marathons in 1988. During an Olympic trial for Mexico in 1988, Cruz finished sixth at the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

. Later that year, Cruz was chosen to join the six-runner Mexican contingent as an emergency backup for Mauricio Gonzalez for the 1988

. González could not compete in the event due to injury. At the time, Cruz was studying at the

University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

for a

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

degree. Cruz won the 1988 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:08:57. He became the youngest man to win the Chicago Marathon and set the fastest time for a twenty-year old in any marathon. He was also the first-ever person from Mexico to win the Chicago Marathon. Cruz later reappeared at Chicago in 1994 and finished in 4th place. He also entered the 1998 edition but did not finish the event. In other

, Cruz competed at the

and

between 1991 and 2000. His best results were a 4th-place finish at the 1991 Boston Marathon and 23rd at the 1993 New York City Marathon. Outside of the World Marathon Majors, Cruz was 5th at the marathon event in the

. Cruz also ran in the marathon at the

and finished the race in 42nd place. While primarily running in North America, Cruz travelled to various places for his races including

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, Japan, and Guatemala. Cruz continued to run in marathons until 2009. Overall, Cruz was first in points for the 1993 ''

'' men's open rankings based on his 1992 race results.

Other activities

Cruz worked as a civil engineer in the 2000s and planned to start a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in math. Cruz was married and had one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Alejandro 1968 births Living people Mexican male marathon runners Chicago Marathon male winners Mexican civil engineers Athletes from Mexico City