The reigning Olympic and world individual triathlon champion will use the Valencia 10km to prepare for the London Marathon.
Alex Yee will compete over 10km in Valencia this Sunday (January 12), marking his return to independent road racing for the first time in five years.
The reigning Olympic and world individual triathlete champion, who clocks a 10,000m best of 27:51.94, is one of many Britons in the Valencia 10km and will use it as preparation for the London Marathon.
Last month, Yi announced that he would create his own Marathon debut over 26.2 miles at this year’s edition in the UK capital.
“London was a no-brainer for me,” Yi said. “It’s a place that gave me a lot as a kid, and I remember running the mini-marathon a few times. It’s one of my biggest and most exciting races of the year was
“As the London Marathon looms large in my life, I’d like to come back and race well here. The marathon has always been an itch I’ve wanted to scratch and there’s nowhere else I’d rather start that journey.”
You can tell Yee has a running pedigree, boasting a personal best of 13:26 over 5km.He is also 14th over 10,000m for Great Britain at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin.
So it will be interesting to see what he can produce over the 10km at the weekend.
Mark Scott and Jess Warner-Judd (Getty)
Strength in depth in the British field
Mark Scott and Jess Warner-Judd lead a number of Britons for Valencia.
The traditionally fast course in the Spanish city will see a number of Britons looking to lower their personal bests over 10km and move up the domestic all-time rankings.
In the men’s field, Scott is the fastest Briton with a personal best of 28:03, which sees him seventh on the UK all-time 10km list.
The 31-year-old clocked 28:27 at the Wrexham 10km last season and will be aiming to become the fifth Briton to break the 28-minute barrier.
Zak Mohamed (Graham Smith)
Zac Mahamed, Ellis Cross and Rory Leonard, who were all part of the Great Britain team that secured team bronze in the senior race at last month’s European Championships, will also compete in Valencia.
The British trio boast 10km personal bests of 28:10, 28:40 and 29:03 respectively.
Scott Beattie, who has a best time of 13:32 over 5km, makes his 10km debut in Valencia.
Also keep an eye out for Phil Seseman, Great Britain’s Olympic marathoner, who clocked 2:08:02 over 26.2 miles.
Sesemann’s best time for 10km is 28:24 from five years ago, but last month the Briton clocked 28:26 in Telford, underlining that he is in good form.
Phil Seseman (Choir)
In the women’s field, Warner-Judd has every chance of finishing in the top five in Valencia, given that her 10km personal best is 30:41 and she is fourth on the UK all-time list.
Only Eilish McColgan, Paula Radcliffe and Liz McColgan have gone faster over the distance than Warner-Judd.
Abby Donnelly and Amelia Quirk will no doubt be hoping to break into the top 10 on that list and, with both sub-32 minutes for 10km already, are more than capable of running well in Valencia.
Alex Bell (Dave Woodhead)
Alex Bell, who announced his retirement from running last year, will be competing in just his third 10km, having clocked 32:28 and 32:56 the previous two times.
Amy Eloise-Neill, the European indoor 3000m champion, is also on the starting line and clocked a 10km time of 32:35.
Lily Partridge, Jenny Nesbitt and Mhairi MacLennan complete the British contingent; the trio have respective 10km personal bests of 31:29, 32:30 and 32:58.
Dominic Lobalu (Getty)
The caliber of international athletes is exceptional
Tadese Worku, Getnet Wale and Samuel Tefera lead an impressive line-up in Valencia.
Worku, the world under-20 3000m champion, clocked 26:56 for 10km and is 12th on the all-time list.
Tefera, a two-time world indoor 1500m champion, makes his much-anticipated debut over 10km in the Spanish city.
Don’t be surprised if the European record of 27:04, currently held by France’s Etienne Daguinos, falls too, given Dominic Lobalu, Isaac Kimmel and Andreas Almgren.
Lobalu and Almgren are fourth and sixth on the all-time European 10km list, while Kimeli must surely improve on his best of 28:17 from five years ago.
Fautien Tesfaye (Getty)
The women’s field is led by Ethiopia’s Fotien Tesfaye and Kenya’s Christine Cheshire.
The pair, clocking 29:54 and 29:56 respectively, are the only two athletes in the field to go over 30 minutes over 10km and are likely to challenge for victory.
Warner-Judd is Europe’s top athlete competing, but look out for Slovenia’s Klara Lukan and France’s Mekdes Voldu.
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