• Dozens of runners in the San Diego-Tijuana Binational Half Marathon reportedly had their cars towed.
• Organizers said the vehicles were towed from a shopping center that wasn’t an official parking site.

Dozens of participants in the Binational Half Marathon across the U.S./Mexico border reportedly returned from the race to find their cars had been towed.

A long line formed outside a towing office in the San Diego area on Sunday afternoon after the event, which started in San Ysidro and crossed the border into Tijuana, according to FOX 5 San Diego. Some runners told the outlet they parked in lots designated by Binational Race personnel but still had their cars towed.

“When we got back, our car was gone,” runner Alex Rodriguez said in an interview with Fox 5. “They told us it was our fault, but it’s not our fault when the official people of Binational Half Marathon instructed us to park there.”

Binational Race USA’s managing director, Valerie Rivera, said the towing incidents took place at San Ysidro Village Shopping Center, which organizers didn’t designate or promote as an official parking area.

“We have not received any confirmed reports of vehicles being towed from our designated parking locations,” Rivera wrote in an email. Those locations, which were clearly communicated to participants, were Las Americas Premium Outlets and Baja-Mex Ped West Parking in San Ysidro, she wrote.

Race organizers regret the inconvenience experienced by those who were towed, Rivera wrote.

Sunday marked the third edition of the cross-border running event, which aims to celebrate the diversity of border communities and bring two countries together through sporting events. In addition to the half marathon, the event includes a 12K that begins in San Diego and crosses into Mexico, and a 10K in Tijuana.