Valencia reconfirms its reign as the fastest city in the world
The 25th edition of the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia half-marathon, organized by the Sports Society Correcaminos, is again the fastest in the season. The best way to make history on its silver anniversary was, just as in 2014, achieving the best time in the world for the season in the male category with 59’10”. This historical milestone in which the winner beat the record time for the fifth year running, is an achievement which only the Lisbon half-marathon has realized this decade. To complete the celebrations on this anniversary, the Ethiopian Netsanet Kebede also smashed the women’s record on the Valencian circuit by nearly half a minute with a time of 1’07’30”.
And so the Valencian trial takes another step forward in the international marathon calendar as an unmissable event and with a circuit perfect for achieving record times. It’s also important to note that more than 10,000 runners finished the race, another historic figure, only achievable in the world’s top races.
The pace of the race was tremendous. From the 5th kilometer the favorite, Abraham Cheroben set a pace with a speed that was set to give him a great finishing time. The group of 5,000 favorites which was led by Matthew Kissorio passed the first control at 14’02” From there the race started to unfold when Cheroben, Kisorio, and Cheprot started to mark their distances at 10,000m with a constant rhythm of 28’06”
The last selection was made after the race halfway point. Of the men vying for a position on the podium, Cheroben and Kisorio overtook the third position in order to continue their run to JJ Domine where the finish line was waiting for them. They reached the 15k point with a window of more than 30 seconds in front of the other favorites, at 42’0”. From there Cheroben, took advantage of the race conditions in a final sprint for the finish line to triumph with the best time in the world for the year at 59’10”.
With respect to national participants, Jesús Antonio Nuñez, from Bikila came in at 1’04’40” as the first Spanish male athlete, while Paula González was the first female Spanish runner to cross the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia half-marathon finish line with a time of 1’12’10”, close to her personal best.
Statements
Paco Borao, president of de SD Correcaminos (organizers of the Valencia half-marathon) highlighted that: “the 92% registered at the start of the race are very difficult conditions for breaking records in long-distance athletics. We’ve had a very strange race in which the fastest 5k was recorded going uphill”. Paco Borao also wanted to thank the Kisorio’s great work, setting the pace at the front of the race.
The AIMS president wanted to highlight that Abraham Cheroben “has managed to get the best international half-marathon time of the year with a time of 59’10” after achieving 59’14”, the best in the world, in Copenhagen”.
Abraham Cheroben, winner of the 25th edition of the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia half-marathon men’s race said he was “very happy to repeat his victory. The Valencia circuit is perfect for getting good times and I would be delighted to come back to Valencia next year to try to get another record”.
Netsanet Kebede, winner of the 25th edition of the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia half-marathon women’s race was shy at the press conference and was overwhelmed by her personal and circuit record. Even so, she wanted to “thank Valencia for its fantastic organization” and said she was “very happy with her time”.
€10,884 in charity was raised for the Valencian Community Spina Bifida Association
One of the charitable actions of the Valencia half-marathon was the donation of one euro for each runner crossing the finish line. This compensation by the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation for the runner’s efforts raised €10,884 for the Valencian Community Cystic Fibrosis Association, the charity for the 2015 edition.
Valencians spill out onto the streets to enjoy the half-marathon
One of the keys to sporting success and participation in the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia half-marathon was the involvement and participation of locals. Over the length of the half-marathon circuit public encouragement helped the trial to become even better than last year. The residents became part of the party atmosphere and helped to cheer and encourage the runners. For the second year running the fallas took a leading role in the race and at the entertainment points thanks to the Running Fallero competition.
