Valencia seeks to be ‘fastest race of 2021’

And to achieve this it will count on some of the best athletes in the world including the Kenyans Geoffrey Kamworor, Lawrence Cherono and Amos Kipruto, and the Ethiopians Mule Wasihun, Getaneh Molla, Kinde Atanaw and Andamlak Belihu.

Kamworor (2:06:12), who broke the half marathon world record in 2019 (later broken in 2020 in Valencia) and who has won the New York Marathon twice, is seen by many as the successor to Eliud Kipchoge and he is eager to show what he can do. Since he had to withdraw from the Tokyo Games due to injury, he has been preparing exclusively and conscientiously to achieve a great result in the City of Running on 5 December.

For his part, Lawrence Cherono (2:03:04 in Valencia 2020) is coming off a fourth place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, and in 2019 he won in Boston and Chicago. Amos Kipruto, who achieved his personal best at the distance in Valencia 2020 (2h03:30), will run too.

Joining them will be Ethiopia’s Mule Wasihum (2:03:16), Getaneh Molla (2:03:34), Kinde Atanaw (2:03:51, time of his victory in Valencia 2019) and Tsegaye Mekonnen (2:04:32), as well as Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay (2:04:55), and another exciting newcomer, Andamlak Belihu, a 26:53:15 runner over 10,000m and who achieved 58:54 in the 2020 New Delhi Half. A whole squad of men capable of achieving the event’s objective of getting closer and closer to the fastest world record in history.

In the women’s category, the aim of the race organisers, S.D. Correcaminos and Valencia City Council, wants to go under 2h20 for third year in a row. To achieve this, Ethiopia’s Guteni Shone (2:20:11), Azmera Gebru (2:20:48) and Tadelech Bekele (2:21:40), as well as Kenya’s Bornes Chepkirui (2:21:26) will travel to the City of Running. Completing the line-up so far are Uganda’s Juliet Chekwel (2:23:13) and Ethiopia’s Rahma Tusa (2:23:46).

Although her personal best is not the most impressive, another favourite to win will be Germany’s Melat Kejeta (2:23:57), who finished sixth at the Tokyo Olympics and clocked 1:05:18 in the half marathon in 2020 (Europe’s record). Also watch out for Nancy Jelagat, with a personal best of 2:36:22, but a time of 1:05:21 at the Berlin half marathon in August, which bodes well for her. Finally, we would highlight the debut of the young Kenyan Dorcas Tuitoek, who has run 1:06:33 in the half-marathon, and who showed herself to be an outstanding athlete at the 2020 Elite Edition in Valencia.

For Marc Roig, the coach of the International Elite for the Valencia Marathon, “this year’s marathon is extremely competitive, as we like it in Valencia. I don’t rule out a sprint finish in both the men’s and women’s categories and, in fact, I’m counting on it. The athletes know that Valencia offers one of the best circuits for achieving personal best times. And this, with the level of runners we have, can easily translate into several athletes breaking the course record. By how much? We will see on 5 December.”