Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi, the San Diego runner who last month became the first American to win the Boston Marathon in 31 years, will be given the key to the city Saturday by Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
The award ceremony will be at San Diego High School, where Keflezighi ran track.
Members of the public can come to the school's track beginning at 9:30 a.m. and walk a lap with Keflezighi. Faulconer will give him the key to the city in a ceremony at 11:15 a.m.
Keflezighi and his family moved to San Diego as refugees from Eritrea when he was 12 years old. He started running track at Roosevelt Middle School in San Diego, and continued while at San Diego High School. At 19 years old, he won the 1,600-meters and 3,200-meters at the California high school track and field championships.
After living in Mammoth, Calif. to train with the Mammoth Track Club, Keflezighi moved back to San Diego in 2013. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Mission Hills.
Keflezighi clocked a personal best of 2:08:37 at the Boston Marathon on April 21. He was also the first American in 27 years to win the New York City Marathon in 2009 and won a silver medal for the U.S. in the marathon at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
In an interview with Runner's World Magazine, Keflezighi said he had planned to retire after 2013, but decided to run this year's Boston Marathon because of the bombings at last year's race. He wrote the names of the four people killed in last year's bombings on his race number.
City Councilman David Alvarez, who was classmates with Keflezighi in junior high and high school, will also speak at his ceremony.
