International momentum is continuing to fuel the Valencia Marathon, which already had more than 12,000 registered participants in August

The Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon, organised by the Valencian government and Correcaminos, continues its process of international expansion which it started in 2011. Just three months ahead of the event there are already 12,000 registrees with a wide international profile which puts the Valencian race among the most important athletic events in the autumn.

To date, one in four runners that have signed up for the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon come from outside of Spain, a provisional total of 27%. This represents new momentum from international participants, who, more and more, are choosing Valencia as the city to improve their time and to enjoy sport tourism, thanks to all of the facilities that the event organisers offer, such as accommodation and transport.

There has been a significant increase in the number of runners from Asia. While in previous years their participation was almost anecdotal, promotion in the Asian market in collaboration with Turismo Valencia will bring runners from South and North Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Japan, and Hong Kong to our race. A clear demonstration that the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon is a clear reference in athletics, not only in Spain, but also at the Global level.

Putting the passports of the runners’ who’ve formally signed up under the magnifying glass, we discover that there is an authentic melting pot of nationalities, with up to 52 countries represented. Never failing, Italy continues to top the list. The Italian market is a clear example of the success of word of mouth recommendations: many participants from the transalpine country repeat or recommend running in Valencia. There are currently more than 1000 Italians signed up representing 9% of the total, second only to the Provinces of Valencia and Madrid in terms of runners.

But the international census of runners doesn’t only centre on Italy. The Belgians are in second position, with 416 registered runners, followed by Great Britain, France, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden. Europeans are the closest geographically, and are the foreigners who most frequently choose Valencia, but they are not alone: we also find runners representing Africa, North and South America, Oceania, and Asia.