The Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon celebrates the first Gold Label in Spain with a new course record for women
The Kenyan athlete Peres Jepchirchir has set a new course record for women with 01:07:09 and has been proclaimed female winner of the 26th edition of the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon. Violah Jepchumba with 1:08:22 and Rose Chelimo with 1:09:35 have completed the podium. As for men, Stephen Kosgei Kibet was the first runner to cross the finish line in 59:27, followed by Mustapha El Aziz with 59:29 and Edwin Kipsang Rotich who was the third one in 59:32.
Peres Jepchirchir, who is the current world half marathon champion, has set the new course record for women, which is 21 seconds under Netsanet Kebede’s 1:07:30 in 2015. Jepchirchir was one of the favourite runners to win the Valencia Half Marathon and she has not let us down, nor has her compatriot Kosgei Kibet, who was expected to complete the race under 60 minutes and he has stood out among the rest of the runners when he was still kilometres away from the finish line of the 21,097 metre race.
The pace kept by Violah Jepchumba in the first 10,000 metres made everyone think that the world female half marathon record could be beaten in the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon. Jepchumba, however, was not able to keep such a fast pace and Jepchirchir’s perseverance paid off. Five athletes have finished with times under one hour despite being affected by the high humidity in Valencia, the City of Running.
Hence, the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon is again an event that no runner can afford to miss. The IAAF Gold Label which it was awarded last January proves its sports and organization quality. This has been the first race held in Spain with such an award. It should be also noted that more than 11,768 runners have crossed the finish line, which sets a new record in this respect.
As in previous editions, the Valencia Half Marathon, organized by SD Correcaminos, wishes to thank all volunteers, the official sponsor Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, the sportswear firm Luanvi and the official firms – La Caixa, Coca Cola e Intersport –, as well as the rest of the sponsors and partners, for making this event possible this year again.
Statements
The president of SD Correcaminos, Paco Borao, has expressed his satisfaction at the end of the race for the participation levels, the women record and the fact that five athletes have completed the race under 60 minutes. He said: ‘We should be very proud, this is an aim that other races have not attained‘. The winners have also expressed their pride for the results they have achieved in the Valencian circuit. Kosgei Kibet has said that he is looking forward to improving his time and coming back to Valencia after making his debut in the City of Running, and Jepchirchir has acknowledged that he has reached his goal: breaking the race record.
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The initiative Euro Solidario donates 11,768 euros to AFAV
The Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon, in its 26th edition, has raised a total of €11,768 for this year’s charity: Alzheimer Family Association of Valencia (AFAV). Every year, the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation is committed to donating one euro for every runner that crosses the finish line. This initiative launched by the Foundation aims at praising the effort of runners and showing support to non-profit organizations. Besides this amount, runners have made voluntary contributions when signing up for the race which will be also donated to AFAV.
A golden crowd for a golden race
The people from Valencia have shown their commitment to the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon and they have hit the streets to cheer up and support the runners. In addition, thanks to the initiative Running Fallero, the fallas associations have shown their support to the runners in 31 cheering stations that have made us all enjoy this great sporting event.
