The Trinidad Alfonso Zurich Valencia Marathon confirms the main names of the international elite that will arrive in Valencia with the intention of remaining among the fastest marathons in the world. The race, organized by SD Correcaminos and the Valencia City Council, is the fourth fastest marathon in men, thanks to the mark achieved by Sisay Lemma last year (2:01:48), and third in women, with the 2:14:58 achieved by Amane Beriso in 2022. Precisely both athletes, defenders of the current circuit records, will be on the starting line of the marathon on December 1.

In the men’s category, in addition to Sisay Lemma, the return of three-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion Kenenisa Bekele stands out. The Ethiopian (2:01:41) returns to the running city after finishing fourth in the last edition. Hillary Kipkoech’s debut will also be the focus of much attention. The Kenyan knows what it is like to run in Valencia, as he was one of the pacemakers of Lemma in 2023, and his best half marathon time was also achieved in the city of running last year (59:22).

Read also: Where to watch the Valencia Marathon 2024? LiveStream and Schedules

Also making his debut will be Sebastian Sawe, half marathon world champion who was already fifth in the Valencia 2023 Half Marathon and holds a personal record in this distance of 58:05, and Daniel Mateiko, who has not yet finished any 42,195 meters race, but comes from being second in the Valencia 2024 Half Marathon (58:17), one of his seven half marathons he has run in 58 minutes (three of them in Valencia).

In women, Amane Beriso returns to Valencia, where she achieved her best marathon time in 2022 (2:14:58) and which is currently the fifth best world record. The Ethiopian athlete will compete with her compatriots Megertu Alemu (2:16:34), Hiwot Gebrekidan (2:17:59), Tiruye Mesfin (2:18:47), Ugandan Stella Chesang (2:20:23) or American Sara Hall (2:20:32).

Among the list of international men and women who complete the elite in Valencia are athletes with the intention and possibility of beating more than 20 national records, who arrive in Valencia with the necessary ambition to take advantage of its fast circuit.

Marc Roig, coach of the international elite of the event, said that “one more year, the combination of established names with ambitious debutants presents a great spectacle. And having both the men’s and women’s course record holders will be even more fascinating. Will they be able to lower their record even further? Or will it be the outsiders who will be successful? As always, it is impossible to predict what will happen in Valencia.

Valencia Marathon despite uncertainty

Last Friday, November 15, the organization of the Trinidad Alfonso Zurich Valencia Marathon confirmed that the 2024 edition will take place.

“These have been days of great pain, fear, uncertainty and anxiety for the city of Valencia and its entire province,” the statement said.

“We would have loved for you to have heard from us earlier. But it has been impossible for us. We were doing everything in our power to help those who needed it most at that moment. We know that, as a good sportsman, you will understand the situation perfectly. Luckily, as it always happens, after every storm comes the sunrise. That’s why we want to share with you that on December 1, Valencia is waiting for you to celebrate a marathon that will be much more than a race”, said the official communication.

The Valencia Marathon bets that sport becomes “hope and help for those who need it most” reads the press release, focusing on “those who have suffered the most from the impact of the DANA”.

Thus, it was announced that the Valencia Marathon will have 3 lines of fundraising for the reconstruction of sports areas and sports schools in the affected areas. To this end, the organization itself will donate 3 euros for each runner who reaches the finish line on December 1. To this will be added the contributions of sponsors and the organization’s own funds.

“The December 1 marathon will be a marathon that transcends, by far, its purely sporting character. The only record we want to beat this year is the solidarity record.

Thank you for making it possible, with your participation, for the Valencia Marathon to do its bit to recover the social, economic and sporting pulse in Valencia. And thank you for being there in good times and bad”, closes the official communication.

Personalized plans with running.COACH

Soymaratonista.com together with running.COACH offers personalized English plans that fit your current conditions and future competitions. running.COACH is a customized plan for running with iOS and Android applications.

In addition, with this subscription, you get 30 days on the running. You can create a 100% personalized and dynamic training plan with the COACH app.

USE PROMO CODE: B6TQTH

GET YOUR PLAN NOW!