Once upon a time there was an athlete who didn’t know what it is to cover a half marathon in over an hour, simply his legs are faster than that; he has tried five times, but his most mediocre time, if that’s what you can call it, is 59:25. Three of those occasions were in Valencia, where he already triumphed in 2019, taking second place both in 2022 and last year, when he achieved his personal best of 57:41, just 10 seconds off the world record and third fastest time in history.

Who are the favorites in the Valencia half marathon?

Yomif Kejelcha comes to Valencia hungry for glory, after an Olympic year in which he has performed at a great level, with spectacular times and personal bests over 5.000 (12:38.95) and 10.000m (26:31.01), but without the cherry of Olympic glory, having to settle for sixth place in the 25 laps of the track in Paris, an impressive achievement for 99% of the athletes, a disappointment for him, who barely accumulates great medals.

It will be difficult for the Ethiopian squad to escape victory considering that Selemon Barega, Olympic 10,000 champion in Tokyo, will also be in action, who has had a similar season to Kejelcha in 2024, entering just after him in Paris.

Less experienced than his compatriot, Barega faces his third adventure over 21.097m with the confidence of having run 57:50 last year here just a year ago, a time that places him sixth all-time; surely, on the collaboration between these two Ethiopian stars, once the hares finish their work, will depend how close to Kiplimo’s 57:31 they can fly through the crowded Valencian streets.

The ones in charge of stoking the cadence from the gun will be the young Ethiopian Kekeba Bejiga, who should set a pace of 2:44/km and Kenyan Mathew Kiplimo Langat, who will try to hold on until the tenth kilometer to reach ideally between 27:15 and 27:20. From then on, the stars will play among themselves for the victory and the big question is whether they will establish an alliance to beat the clock or will watch each other for the victory.

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The Kenyans are not satisfied

The Kenyan squad will try by all means that last year’s victory of Kibiwott Kandie, the one who broke the world record in Valencia, 57. 32 in 2020, has continuity this year; its two best assets should be Daniel Mateiko and Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi; the first one, who has already run nine half-lengths, knows perfectly the Valencian avenues, being third in both 2021 and 2022, with 58:26 as personal best, which must be improved if he wants to face the Ethiopian duo.

Mateiko improved his 10,000 record at the Paris Olympics, although his 26:50.81 was only good enough to place eleventh. Lasoi, who comes from third in Copenhagen six weeks ago with a personal best of 58:10 in his fourth half of 2024, is sure to be in great form.

The theory tells us that from the quartet analyzed should come out the podium places on October 27 but the magic of the half marathon, never as intense as the 42,195m, usually provides wonderful surprises; one of them could well be Thierry Ndikumwenayo, who amazed in the Olympic 10,000m shattering the Spanish record of 10,000m with 26:49.49.

After the necessary rest after the Games, perhaps Thierry has not had the necessary time to show his unlimited potential in the distance, but his performances in shorter distances give him a margin of maneuver that should be enough to beat the Spanish record, the one that Carlos Mayo beat just a year ago with 59:39 after the previous record remained unbroken for 22 years.

Thierry will have in the rear-view mirror the 59:13 held by the Swiss Julien Wanders as European record and perhaps the biggest danger for him is to stay in no man’s land because joining the front group, which will aspire as always to sign a sub-58, does not seem the most sensible thing in this his first foray over the distance.

This hypothetical record would serve as a well-deserved tribute to Pepe Ortuño, who will retire from his tutelage when Thierry crosses the finish line. Tadese Worku, Gemechu Dida, Edward Cheserek, Bravin Kiprop… All of them have run well under the one-hour mark and will be looking for their day of glory in Valencia; among the Europeans, the Portuguese Samuel Barata (national record last year with 59:40), the Italian European runner-up Pietro Riva (59:41) and the British Emile Cairess (60:01), fourth at the Paris Olympic Games in the marathon, will compete with Ndikumwenayo.

Ngetich wants to make a big debut

The shadow of the women’s world record will also hover over the Valencian asphalt next Sunday, courtesy of Agnes Ngetich, who already broke the 10K world record in the city of Valencia on January 13 thanks to a stratospheric time of 28:46; after that explosion, the Kenyan lost some steam, if we can refer to her 5th place in the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade.

In the track season she suffered physical problems that made her give up at the last moment to compete in the Kenyan trials held in Eugene, thus saying goodbye to the Olympic dream; since then, her roadmap goes through her debut in Valencia over 21.097m and, despite her neophyte condition, a serious attempt at the world record, currently held by the Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey who set an impressive 1:02:52, of course in Valencia, in 2021, is not discarded.

The hare duties will fall to Japhet Kosgei and Vincent Nyageo, who will travel at a cadence slightly below 3:00/km, to ensure a challenge to the WR if the forces accompany in the final stretch to Ngetich.

Behind, a large group composed of Tsige Gebreselama, Llilian Rengeruk and Ejgayehu Taye is expected. Gebreselama returns to the venue of his debut two years ago (1:05:46), a time he improved this February by winning the prestigious Ras Al Khaimah half with 1:05:14, although the biggest threat to Ngetich could be his fellow debutant and compatriot Lilian Rengeruk, 5th in the Olympic 10. 000m and with a 10K time of 29:32 set this January in Valencia, who projects a great performance over the double distance while Taye, who is also making her debut over the distance, is an accomplished 5K specialist, although she has also gone under 30m (29:50.53) in the 10,000 at the Ethiopian trials in Nerja.

The main European assets should be Great Britain’s Samantha Harrison, who improved last year to 1:07:10 in Valencia, and Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen, a brilliant winner on her debut two years ago with 1:05:41, although she does not seem to be in her best form.

Spain’s record falters

If there is a record that has every chance of evaporating on Sunday, it is the Spanish women’s record, not because it is outdated, since Laura Luengo acquired the record holder status just a year ago thanks to her 1:09:41, but because her own form announces an improvement of that mark; the athlete of the On Athletics team will start at a devilish pace of 3:16/3:17 per kilometer guided by the duathlon world champion, Javier Martin, to seriously threaten the 1:09 barrier.

It could well be the case that she could achieve it and still not keep the record because both Irene Sanchez-Escribano and Boulaid Kaoutar plan to go out at identical cadence which can give us a three-way duel more than exciting.

The Spanish athlete shone at the Olympic Games in Paris over her favorite 3.000m steeplechase and faces her debut over the distance with total confidence; in the 10K of Laredo (31:35) in March she ran at a Spanish record pace for a good part of the race and this good adaptation to the asphalt is more than promising.

For her part, the brand new Spanish champion Kaoutar (1:10:44 on October 6 in Albacete) already knows what it is to go under the 1:09 mark, as she clocked 1:08:57 in Gijón a year and a half ago when she was still competing under the Moroccan flag. Place your bets.

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