Megertu Alemu leads the women to victory in 2:16:49, on a day that has seen a flurry of national records and PBs just weeks after the city was hit by catastrophic flooding.
Until now, Sebastian Soye stood out in the half marathon with the best time of 58:05 and the title of world champion in 2023.
Great half-marathon performances don’t always translate into top-notch marathons, but Soi showed in Valencia on Sunday (December 1) that she can definitely go the distance.
The 28-year-old ran away from his rivals in the final kilometers to run 2:02:05 in his debut over 26.2 miles, with runner-up Deresa Geleta of Ethiopia clocking 2:02:38 and Kenya’s Daniel Mateiko third in 2:04:23.
The performance ranks Sawe 5th all-time and the fastest time of 2024. After the race, he praised organizers for bringing back the race after the catastrophic rain and flooding in late October that left more than 200 dead and billions dollars in damages.
Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu won in 2:16:49, a wave of fast times in the Super Shoes era, but she said she was disappointed she didn’t go faster, followed by Ugandan runner-up Stella Chesang in 2:18:26.
Valencia Marathon (River)
Alice Wright was the best British female in 2:28:48 and Dan Nash the leading British in 2:13:02.The race once again featured an incredible range of times with 10 men in the 2:05s and the top 30 running were up to 2:10, while 14 women clocked in at 2:25.
National records included Switzerland’s Thaddeus Abraham, who ran his last marathon at the age of 42, in 2:04:40, Israel’s Maru Teferi in 2:04:45 and Germany’s Samvel Fitwi in 2:04:56. score ahead of one of the previous ones – race favourites, Ethiopian Sisay Lemma.
Johannes Chiappinelli set an Italian record of 2:05:24, while 2022 European champion Richard Ringer of Germany set a best time of 2:05:47.
The Australians were also in form, with Andy Buchanan clocking a national record of 2:06:22, the first Australian to break the 2:07 barrier, while Isobel Bath-Doyle topped the women’s race in 2:22:59;
A few months after turning 40, Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack ran a PB of 2:23:46 in 11.th. Just ahead, Moira Stewartova set a Czech record of 2:23:44 and Sarah Hall of the USA, 41, ran 2:23:45.
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