43rd Valencia Marathon | |
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Venue | Valencia, Spain |
Date | December 3, 2023 |
Champions | |
Men | Sisay Lemma (ETH) (2:01:48) |
Women | Worknesh Degefa (ETH) (2:15:51) |
The 2023 Valencia Marathon was an Elite Platinum Label marathon race held in Valencia, Spain on December 3, 2023. It was the 43rd running of the race. [1]
There were 20 national records set in this marathon. [2] Kenenisa Bekele, was just over 20 seconds behind the lead group at halfway and appeared to have decided not to go with the strong pace at the front. [3] That proved to be a wise move with the 41-year-old Ethiopian legend passing plenty of slowing runners, including Kandie, to take fourth place in a new Masters world record of 2:04:19. [4]
A record-setting number of runners (5,423) finished below three hours. This is more than any other marathon, including the Berlin Marathon and the Boston Marathon. The race also produced more sub-2:45 and sub-2:30 results than any other major marathon. [5]
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The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42 km 195 m, 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 divisions. More than 800 marathons are held worldwide each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes, as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.
Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5,000 m.
Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian former long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Championship titles over the 10,000 metres. Haile triumphed in the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon. He also earned four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion.
A half marathon is a road running event of 21.0975 kilometres —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcuts. If finisher medals are awarded, the medal or ribbon may differ from those for the full marathon. The half marathon is also known as a 21K, 21.1K, or 13.1 miles, although these values are rounded and not formally correct.
The Paris Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the largest running event in France in terms of finishers and is typically among the five largest marathons in the world.
The Berlin Marathon is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi), including elite level road running competitions for men and women, a race for the public, an inline skating race, a wheelchair race, and a handcycle race.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized in the 5000 metres. Kipchoge is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion, and was the world record holder in the marathon from 2018 to 2023, until that record was broken by Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Kipchoge has run 3 of the 10 fastest marathons in history.
The 10K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of ten kilometres. Also referred to as the 10K road race, 10 km, or simply 10K, it is one of the most common types of road running event, alongside the shorter 5K and longer half marathon and marathon. It is usually distinguished from the 10,000 metres track running event by stating the distance in kilometres, rather than metres.
Sara Hall is an American professional distance runner for ASICS. Hall's personal best time for the marathon is 2:20:32 set at the Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona on December 22, 2020, making her the third-fastest American woman in history. She is the second-fastest American woman ever to run the half marathon, running 1:07:15 on January 16, 2022–an American record at the time.
Sifan Hassan is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world-leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second of three women to complete an Olympic distance double. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Hassan secured a bronze medal in both the women's 5,000 m and 10,000 m events and gold in the women's marathon, becoming the only woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres and Marathon races.
Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the current world record holder for the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres, and held the world best time over the 15 kilometres distance.
Sisay Lemma Kasaye is an Ethiopian long-distance runner.
Tigst Assefa Tessema is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the former world record holder in the women's marathon. She has won two top-tier World Marathon Majors, both in Berlin. A former 800 meters specialist, Tigst switched to road races in 2018 and ran her first marathon in 2022.
Letesenbet Gidey is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. In the 10,000 metres, she is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, 2019 World silver medallist, and 2022 World champion. Her record of 29.01.03 is the second fastest time ever, just recently broken by Kenyan rival Beatrice Chebet. Letesenbet is the first athlete ever, male or female, to hold the 5000m, 10000m, and half marathon world records, simultaneously.
The Valencia Marathon is an annual marathon road running event hosted by Valencia, Spain, since 1981. It is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athletics. The race is organised by the Valencian sports club SD Correcaminos, which also organises the annual Valencia Half Marathon.
The 2018 Chicago Marathon was the 41st edition of the Chicago Marathon, an annual marathon race that is held in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The race took place on the morning of October 7, 2018 in wet conditions, with a total of 44,584 runners completing. Britain's Mo Farah won the men's race, having gapped second placed Mosinet Geremew towards the end of the race, to take his only World Marathon Major win, in a European record time of 2:05:11. The women's race was won by Kenya's Brigid Kosgei in a personal best time of 2:18:35, nearly three minutes ahead of the next finisher. The men's wheelchair races came down to a sprint finish, which was won by Daniel Romanchuk, with Marcel Hug a second behind, while the women's race was won by Manuela Schär.
Girmaw Amare is an Olympic runner who competes in the 10,000 m, half marathon, marathon, and half marathon team event. Born in Ethiopia, he represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2022, Amare won a team gold medal in the 2022 European Marathon Cup at the 2022 European Athletics Championships. In 2023 at the Valencia Marathon, Amare ran a personal best 2:05:52. Amare represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Men's marathon, and came in 44th.
Tsehay Gemechu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She finished fourth in the 5000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Gemechu won the 10,000 metres at the 2019 African Games. She placed second at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon.
The 25K run is a long distance running footrace that is between the distance of a half marathon and a marathon. It was formerly an official world record distance in road running by World Athletics, but has since been downgraded to world best status. Separately, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians retains world records in the 25K distance. The ARRS holds different standards for records than World Athletics, with exclusions for certain point-to-point races and mixed sex races. As a result its women's world record is 1:26:34 by Nancy Conz, set in 1982.
Kelvin Kiptum Cheruiyot was a Kenyan long-distance runner who currently holds the marathon world record. As of 2024, he holds three of the seven fastest marathons in history, and was ranked first among the world's men's marathon runners at the time of his death.