Valencia comes out to cheer on the fastest and most spectacular marathon on spanish history
The Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon, organized by SD Correcaminos and the Valencia Government, has consolidated its position as the top marathon in Spain and one of the best in Europe. La Ciudad del Running was out in force to cheer on the runners. A wonderful race with entertainment and music every 200 meters; over 150 bands, Djs and local social groups took their places around the course. In line with the record breaking support, the race also had two record breaking winners. One of the favorites to win Kenyan John Mwangangi, finished in 2:06.13, the fastest Spanish marathon ever. For the women, the Namibian Beata Naigambo didn’t dissapoint by taking 3 seconds off the track record.
The Valencia Marathon continues to grow as a location for pro and amateur runners to have a great race, and a great place to see records broken. Valencia is one of the top international marathons and has been awarded the title of best Spanish marathon by the Spanish Royal Athletics Federation.
Race Report
Mwangangi was the strongest male from the beginning, staying close to the pacemakers who hit the half marathon mark at 1h03:19. At the 35K mark, Matthew Kisorio started to accelerate away from the pacemakers and reinforce his reputation as a front runner, he eventually finished second. Félix Kandie had a great race finishing third in 2h07:07. All three runners broke the Valencia track record.
Beata Naigambo, female winner of Valencia marathon 2014, let the Kenyan Jelagat Rono pass her at the halfway point but little after that, Naigambo and 4 other runners returned to the helm. At kilometer 34 Naigambo and Azaleh Maresha were pushing each other for the win. Naigambo won with a classy final sprint that had the crowd enthralled.
16 of the top 20 male and female finishers recorded Personal bests and 40 male and female runners finished the race with Olympic qualifying times of between 2h17:00 and 2h42:00. Of these, at least 19 have very good chances of being selected by their national federations to run in the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 based on their Valencia times.
Representing Spain, the male runner Miguel Ángel Barzola finished in 2h16:37, for the Spanish women, Marta Esteban crossed the line of the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon with a time of 2h34:42.
10k Valencia Trinidad Alfonso
The 10K was the perfect warm up for a great marathon. The 10K started at the same time as the marathon on the start line. The 10K winners took the first cheers on the finishing line and the 10K was well represented with 8,500 runners, places for the 10k sold out one month before the race.
Michel Bett finished in under 30 minutes with an impressive 29:00. This took 13 seconds off the track record that was set by Yusuf Biwot in 2014. Accompanying Bett on the podium were Jauad Touvane and Ouais Zitane.
Vitalyne Bikii finished the female 10K with a solid 33:44 to win the race. Taking 2nd and 3rd spot were the Spanish runners Laura Mendez (Playas de Castellón) and Isabel Checa (Cárnicas Serrano).
Post race comments
Paco Borao, SD Correcaminos President. “In this sport you are obliged to always do things better than before. Thankfully, with the support of the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, we are able to achieve all our goals for the race and event.”
John Mwangangi, winner of the 2015 Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon: “I am very happy for the race. I finished in a great time. It was a bit windy last year, and it made it a bit harder for me. I would like to thank the pacesetters who were phenomenal. The circuit helped a lot me get my time.
Beata Naigambo, winner of the 2015 Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon: “The race was really good. Last year I didn’t get my hydration right, I got it right this year and I am very happy with everything. Everything was perfect.”
Record number of runners and supporters
The record breaking runs of the marathon and 10K runners are backed up by more than 16,500 marathon runners and 8,500 10k runners, and a passionate crowd that floods the city streets every year to cheer on the runners; both pro and amateur. The quality of the race and the massive support was very evident on the day and seen by global audiences on TV and live streaming.
Along the course there were 150 entertainment points with music and fun to keep the atmosphere in full swing and to keep the runners going. The race had double the number of entertainment points compared to 2014. There was an entertainment point every 200 meters around the track, the supporters and music continued way past the 4-hour mark to help the runners who were struggling to finish.
As always, a key part of the vociferous support is the local social groups (Fallas). The fallas compete every year to see who can bring the biggest number of supporters and who can provide the most original entertainment. The fallas fill the race with color, song and goodwill.
Last but not least, we need to honor our army of volunteers who make the race possible. More than 1,500 volunteers help before, after and during the race. We would also like to thank the local police, military command and emergency response units that make sure the day is safe as well as spectacular.
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