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The Valencia Half MarathonTrinidad Alfonso Zurichhas become the fastest of 2023 in a spectacular finish that has seen three men enter almost at the same time. In the end, the first to cross the finish line was, as he did in 2020 and 2022,Kibiwott Kandie, who clocked 57:40, the fastest in 2023 and the fourth fastest time in history.

In perfect weather conditions, the city of running saw the world record come close again, although in the end Kandie was unable to achieve the same feat as he did in the Elite Edition in 2020. After the Kenyan, the second to cross the finish line was Yomif Kejelcha with a time of 57:41, followed by Hagost Gebrhiwet with 57:41.

In the women’s race, the winner wasMargaret Chelimowith a great time of 1:04:46. She was followed by Irine Cheptai in second place with 1:04:53 and Janet Chepngetich in third place with 1:05:15.

Two Spanish records are broken

The happiest moment of the morning saw the breaking of two Spanish records over the distance. The first was Carlos Mayo, who with a time of 59:39 managed to beat the Spanish half marathon record that Fabián Roncero had held for 22 years (59:52). Behind him, Laura Luengo made a surprise by achieving the second Spanish record of the day by finishing in a spectacular 1:09:41.

Mayo had already warned that he was coming very strong and that, despite preparing for his debut in the 42K at the Valencia Marathon, his objective was the half and he has not disappointed. The Spaniard already had the second best Spanish time (1:00:06) of all time, achieved in Valencia in the Elite Edition in 2020, but he wanted more and today he took what seemed almost unattainable, as the Spanish record.

For her part, Luengo had said she was feeling good but was the big surprise of the day, improving by 10 seconds on the previous record that had been held by Trihas Gebre with 1:09:51 since 2008.

In addition to Carlos Mayo’s good performance, the rest of the Spanish team also did very well. Hamid Ben Daoud came in second with 1:00:41 and Jorge Blanco was third with 1:02:02. In women, the second female classified was Esther Navarrete with a time of 1:09:58 and the third was Marta Galimany with 1:10:45.

2021 Race Highlights

Gidey smashes world half marathon record in Valencia

Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey smashed the world record* at the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP, clocking 1:02:52 on her debut at the distance at theWorld Athletics Elite Labelroad race on Sunday (24).

Competing in the same Spanish city where she broke the world 5000m record last year, Gidey took 70 seconds off the previous world record of 1:04:02 set by world marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich earlier this year.

In doing so, 23-year-old Gidey becomes the first woman to officially break the 64 and 63-minute barriers. She’s also the first debutante to set a world record for the distance.

Perfectly paced by her compatriot Mebrahtu Kiros, Gidey went through the opening 5km in 15:00, well inside world record pace, with her compatriot Yalemzerf Yehualaw running five metres down. Yehualaw, whose recent 1:03:44 clocking in Larne could not be ratified as a world record due to the course being too short, drifted further back over the next few kilometres as Gidey reached 10km in 29:45 – the third-fastest clocking in history for the distance and just seven seconds shy of the world record set just a few weeks ago by Kalkidan Gezahegne.

While Yehualaw began to lose ground shortly afterwards, Gidey maintained her relentless rhythm to cover the next 5km segment in 14:44, reaching the 15km point in 44:29, barely nine seconds slower than her own world best for the distance.

Although her pace dropped very slightly in the last quarter of the race, Gidey had done more than enough to ensure victory in a world record time. She crossed the line in 1:02:52, adding a third world record to her name to go alongside the marks she owns for 5000m (14:06.62) and 10,000m (29:01.03).

Underscoring the quality of Gidey’s performance, she crossed the finish line alongside Spain’s Javier Guerra, a 2:07:27 marathon runner.

“I knew I could run this kind of time as my training sessions in the altitude of Addis Abeba have gone very well,” said an ecstatic Gidey, the Olympic bronze medallist and world silver medallist over 10,000m. “In future I’m thinking of competing at the marathon distance but I’m not sure that will come before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games or later.”

Yehualaw finished second in 1:03:51, also inside the previous world record. Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui bettered her lifetime best by 45 seconds to complete the podium in 1:04:54.

The men’s race may not have witnessed a world record, but it still had record depth with an unprecedented seven men covering the distance within 59 minutes.

The leading group went through the opening 5km in 13:45, right on schedule for a 58-minute finishing time. Kenya’s world 10km record holder Rhonex Kipruto ran comfortably close to the pacemakers alongside compatriots Abel Kipchumba, Philemon Kiplimo, Felix Kipkoech, Daniel Mateiko and Kennedy Kimutai plus Ethiopia’s world 5000m champion Muktar Edris.

Surprisingly, the three pacemakers – Josphat Kiptoo Chumo, Emmanuel Maru and Evans Kipkemei Kurui – dropped out before the seventh kilometre and from then on the main favourites took turns in the lead to keep a swift pace. The 10km checkpoint was reached in 27:35, slightly outside their target, with Kipruto and 58:48 world leader Kipchumba making most of the pacing duties alongside the surprise package Mateiko, whose career best was 59:25 set in Copenhagen last month. At that point, 10 men still remained in the lead pack.

The first serious move came in the 12th kilometre when Mateiko, a training partner of Eliud Kipchoge, tried to break away from the rest but he was soon reeled in by the main contenders, who were now running in single file.

Shortly after reaching 15km in 41:16, Kipchumba moved to the front and only Kipruto could live with his pace. With about half a kilometre to go, Kipruto surged and gained a few metres on Kipchumba, but the latter never gave up and overtook Kipruto in the closing stages to win in a world-leading 58:07 with Kipruto taking second place in 58:09.

Kipchumba’s winning time elevates him to sixth on the world all-time list. Mateiko set a huge PB of 58:24 to secure a Kenyan sweep of the podium places.

2020 Race highlights

(2020) On Sunday morning December 6 in Valencia, Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandies smashed thehalf-marathon world record, becoming the first person ever to break 58 minutes. Kandie ran 57:32, breaking Geoffrey Kamworor previous record (58:01) which he set in 2019, by 29 seconds.

The top five men remained in a tight pack through 19K, all on world record pace. Around 20K, Kandie and eventual second-place finisher (and current world champion)Jacob Kiplimo broke away, trading leads until Kandie took the race and the world record. The top four men all ran under the previous world best, with third place Rhonex Kiptruto finishing in 57:49 and fourth place Alexander Mutiso in 57:59. To make matters even more impressive, it was Kipruto’s half-marathon debut (making it the fastest debut in history).
Earlier this year Kandies was disappointed at the half-marathon championships, after kilometres of strong running, Kandie lost the race to Kiplimo who took the title. Today, Kandie becomes the first person to run four sub-59 half-marathons in one year and owns his first world record.

Women’s race

In the women’s race,Genzebe Dibaba won the event in her debut over the distance. She ran a 1:05:18 to become the 12th-fastest woman to ever cover 21.1K. After running most of the race solo, with only her pacers accompanying her, she comfortably took the win. Second place went to Sheila Chepkurui in 1:05:39 and third place to Senbere Teferiin 1:05:51.

2019

Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie shines at the Prague half marathon

Kenya Defence Forces’ Kibiwott Kandie won the 2020 Prague men’s Half Marathon in 58 minutes and 38 seconds on Saturday morning.

It was a largely lone affair for the soldier after he broke away from the Kenyan-dominated field at the 10km mark under a hot atmospheric condition.

“It's difficult to run alone,” said Kandie whose performance makes him the fifth fastest man over the distance with the sixth fastest performance of all-time.

Kandie staged a good run early in the year, winning the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February with a world-leading 58:58, six days after his triumph at the fiercely competitive National Cross-Country Championships. But then the Coronavirus pandemic staggered his momentum. In March, Kandie was also named to the Kenyan team for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships.

“My wish is to run again when this pandemic is over. It will be a pleasure to continue competing,”he added.

Kandie’s performance relegated Philemon Kiplimo to second place with a time of 59:56 as Benson Kipruto came in third in 1:00:06.

Making it to the top 10 finishers were Amos Kurgat who clocked 1:00:20 for the fourth position, Felix Kipkoech was fifth in 1:00:40 and Timothy Kibet stopped his timer on 1:00:47 for the sixth place. Others are Benard Kimeli who timed 1:01:00, Abel Kipchumba (1:01:02), Bravin Kipkogei (1:01:23) and Alfred Chelal (1:01:32).