The Valencia Marathon (also known as Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP for sponsorship reasons) is an annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

event hosted by

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, Spain since 1981. It is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. The race is organised by the Valencian

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

, which also organises the annual

Valencia Half Marathon The Valencia Half Marathon ( es, Medio Maratón de Valencia) is an annual half marathon road running event held in Valencia, Spain, since 1988. It is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. The race is organised by the Valenc ...

. The marathon is ranked Nº1 amongst marathons in the Spanish Road Races Ranking.

History

The marathon was first held in 1981 as a popular race known as the ''Marató Popular de València''. From 2011 to 2014, the marathon was known as the Divina Pastora Valencia Marathon. In 2015, the marathon was known as the Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Marathon. On , the race organizer announced the cancellation of the 2020 in-person edition of the mass race due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, with all registrants given the option of running the race virtually, transferring their entry to 2021, or obtaining a full refund. Three days later, on , the organizer announced that an "Elite Edition" of the race would be held on , and that the event would also include a half marathon race that year.https://archive.today/20201207173202/https://tickets.valenciaciudaddelrussing.com/ Both races would use a course very similar to that used in the

, with marathoners running two laps of the course.https://web.archive.org/web/20201207170220if_/https://www.valenciaciudaddelrunning.com/revistas/media-guide-elite-edition-eng/archivos/assets/common/downloads/MVTA%20MEDIA%20GUIDE%20-%20eng.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20201207112857if_/https://www.valenciaciudaddelrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/MM_Plano-Recorrido_A4_web_fecha_2019.pdf On the day of the race, four half marathon runners broke the previous world record of 58:01, with Kenyan

Kibiwott Kandie Kibiwott Kandie (born 20 June 1996) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. In December 2020, he won the Valencia Half Marathon finishing in a new world record time of 57:32, chopping off the previous world record by almost 30 seconds. Kandie won the s ...

setting a

new world record ''New World Record'' is the sixth album by American alternative rock band Poster Children, released in 1999. It was the first album recorded in their own studio, Tedium. It was among the first albums made available for purchase in the MP3 format. ...

of 57:32. In addition, four marathon runners broke the previous course record of 2:03:51, with Kenyan Evans Chebet setting a new course record of 2:03:00, the sixth-fastest marathon at the time, while Kenyan

Peres Jepchirchir Peres Jepchirchir (born 27 September 1993) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes mainly in road running competitions. She won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Jepchirchir was the champion ...

also broke the previous course record of 2:18:30 with a new course record of 2:17:16, the fifth-fastest marathon at the time.

Course

The marathon runs on roughly a loop course that begins at and ends next to the nearby

Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe The Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe ( ca-valencia, Museu de les Ciències Príncep Felip, es, Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe, anglicised as "Science Museum Príncipe Felipe") is a science museum in Valencia, Spain, Valencia, Spa ...

. The course for the elite-only races in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic used a modified version of the Valencia Half Marathon course, with marathon runners running two laps.

Winners

Key: : Course record (in bold) : National championship race

Marathon

Half marathon

The 40th edition of the marathon, held during the coronavirus pandemic, was an elite-only event that also included a half marathon race. : Sources: :
Previous editions results
:* https://arrs.run/HP_ValMa.htm

Wins by country

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{IAAF Gold Label Marathons in Spain Sports competitions in Valencia Recurring sporting events established in 1981 1981 establishments in Spain Autumn events in Spain