The new finish line for the Valencia Marathon will be a 300-metre long walkway in front of the Hemisfèric
The 41st Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP will have a 300-metre long finishing straight that will run over the lakes in the City of Arts and Sciences to cross under the arch in front of the Hemisfèric. The eagerly sought blue walkway over the water changes its location by a few hundred metres to make room for a much wider and safer post-finish line area for runners without losing any of its spectacular appearance.
The organisers of the Valencia Marathon, SD Correcaminos and Valencia City Council, have decided to change the location of the finish line because during 2021 the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum (the finish line for the last decade) has hosted the largest mass COVID-19 vaccination point in the city and it was not certain that the ‘vaccinodrome’ would be dismantled by the date of the race, making it necessary to work with other options so as to avoid interfering with these vaccinations.
The new finish line next to the Hemisfèric will have a straight that will be almost 100 metres longer than the previous one, almost 300 metres long, which will be accessed directly at the end of the ramp down to the Turia Garden, a descent that has also been smoothed out and made more uniform to make it more gentle than in previous races. This will avoid the last two 90-degree turns that the route used to have, but above all, it will make it possible to have a much larger and safer post-finish line area with a better evacuation area for the runners.
As far as the rest of the circuit is concerned, it is basically the same as in 2019 apart from the first kilometres. After setting off from the Plaça de la Marató along the right-hand side of the Monteolivete bridge, the runners will turn left at the Plaça de Europa along the Paseo de la Alameda until they reach the Avenida de Baleares, where the runners will have three kilometres in a straight line along a wide avenue that will allow the race to stretch out comfortably.
The other changes that have been made are small adjustments to improve, if possible, the quality of a course designed to achieve the best possible times for both the elite and the thousands of fun runners who will accompany them in 2021 on the return of amateur participants. Ricardo Íñiguez, who is in charge of the Valencia Marathon together with Blaca Iribas and Ximo Navarro, commented “we believe it will be an even faster course, especially in the final part, where the gradient will be favourable for them and they will only find one turn in the last three kilometres”.
