Valencia Marathon: It’s Kenya!

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Thirty two-year-old Kenyan, Evans Chebet, and his younger compatriot, Peres Jepchirchir (27), raced to record-breaking victories at the 40^th Valencia Marathon this morning (Sunday 6 December) in record times to elevate the Spanish Mediterranean port city into the top echelon of big city marathons.

In a dramatic finale, Chebet surged past compatriot Lawrence Cherono just 100 metres from the finish to win by 4 seconds in 2 hr 03 min 00 sec, while Jepchirchir, who started out as the 16^th fastest athlete in the field with a personal best of 2:23:50, shot the lights out to win in 2:17:16 – a massive 6 min 34 sec improvement.

Chebet and Jepchirchir, who both ran race records and world leading times for 2020, hit pay dirt with the biggest prizes of their careers, each taking home €145 000 (R2.7 million), based on position and time incentives, for their remarkable athleticism on Spanish tarmac.

Together with the earlier world-record-breaking feats in the half marathon, the exceptional depth of quality in the marathon will ensure that Sunday 6 December goes down as one of the biggest dates in road-running history.  It will ensure that Valencia enjoys similar status to Berlin and London as a marathon hotbed of fast times.

Chebet improved Ethiopian Birhanu Legese’s 2019 winning time and race record by 51 seconds, but more significantly improved his own best time of 2:05:02, set in winning the Buenos Aires Marathon last year, by two minutes – a substantial margin at this level.

Only four women, Kenyans Brigid Kosgei, Mary Keitany and Ruth Chepngetish and Britain’s Paula Radcliffe have run faster than Jepchirchir’s superb 2:17:16, which eclipsed Lonah Saltpeter’s 2:17:45 season’s best set in Tokyo in March and Ethiopian Roza Dereje’s 2:18:30 race record from last year.

“I’m feeling good, it’s unbelievable,” gasped Jepchirchir. “It was my dream.”

Cherono, born just three months after Chebet and a double winner of the Amsterdam Marathon in recent years, improved his 2:04:06 win in the 2018 Amsterdam Marathon by over a minute in 2:03:04, while Legese fought hard till the end in a vain attempt to defend his title, nonetheless improving his personal best by 35 seconds to take the last step on the podium in 2:03:16.

And while Chebet was crowned monarch of Valencia, 39-year-old Spanish athlete, Ayad Lamdassem, was the darling of the local media after finishing 12^th in 2:06:35 to lower Julio Rey’s 14 year old national record by 17 seconds, earn a €25 000 record incentive and book a ticket to next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Personal bests were the order of the day for leading marathoners able to take advantage of good conditions, a fast course and a fierce pace up front, with South African South African Desmond Mokgobu (21^st ) improving his time by 18 seconds to 2:09:13 and enjoying a welcome elevation in World Athletics’ rankings.

Chebet, who started out as 10^th-ranked marathoner in the field, ran a perfectly-judged race, assisted by the designated pacers, who took the field through the half-way mark in 1:01:41.  2019 world marathon champion, Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, was racing hard, but paid for his aggressive first half, fading to 35^th at the finish in 2:10:44.

Chebet was at pacer Philemon Kacheran’s shoulder through 30km in 1:27:32 with four other athletes still running in the lead pack – Kenyans Reuben Kiprop and Amos Kipruto and Ethiopians Legese and twice Cape Town Marathon champion, Abebe Negewo.  Cherono appeared out of contention but came through strongly to catch the leaders 5 km from the finish as defending champion, Kinde Atanaw, cut a forlorn figure sitting on the sidewalk, his race done.

Chebet upped the pace and surged into the lead as the runners headed for the waterfront finish, but 2019 Boston and Chicago Marathon champion, Cherono, was far from vanquished and closed the gap with a surge of his own, taking the lead as the pair turned in sight of the finish.

It was anyone’s race as the Kenyans sprinted for home but it was the under-rated Chebet who had the mental and physical edge as he made a final, and decisive, last gasp effort to snatch victory.

Only 72 seconds separated the top five and 147 seconds the top ten – indicative of the exceptional depth in the field.  Even more remarkable was that the 50^th athlete, Estonian Roman Fosti, crossed the line less than ten minutes after the winner in 2:12:54, a time which would win many city marathons.

While the women’s race lacked the sprint finish drama of their male counterparts, the quality of performance of the leading athletes was never in doubt, with six finishing under the magical 2 hr 20 min barrier. 

Jepchirchir always looked in control as the lead pack reduced from eight at half way, reached in 1:08:45, to six at 30km, where she and close friend Joyciline Jepkosgei led the pack through in a brisk 1:38:07. The two top-ranked athletes in the field, Ethiopians Ruti Aga and Birhane Dibaba and another pair of Ethiopians, Zeinaba Yimer and Tigist Girma, made up the lead group.

Ethiopia reigned supreme at Valencia last year, but this time it was the turn of their Kenyan neighbours.  Jepchirchir and Jepkosgei shook off their Ethiopian rivals in the latter stages, before Jepchirchir took complete control at the front of the race, accompanied only by her male pacer.

Jepchirchir, who won the World Half Marathon title in Poland in October, won by 1 min 24 sec ahead of Jepkosgei, with 2018 Cape Town Marathon and Commonwealth Games champion, Helalia Johannes of Namibia, running strongly in the final kilometres to snatch third by two seconds ahead of Yimer in a superb 2 min 33 sec personal best time of 2:19:52. 

Results

Men: 1 Evans Chebet (Ken) 2:03:00; 2 Lawrence Cherono (Ken) 2:03:04; 3 Birhanu Legese (Eth) 2:03:16; 4 Amos Kipruto (Ken) 2:03:30; 5 Reuben Kiprop (KIen) 2:04:12; 6 Chalu Gelmisa (Eth) 2:04:53; 7 Abel Kirui (Ken) 2:05:05; 8 Abebe Negewo (Eth) 2:05:15; 9 Leul Gebreselasie (Eth) 2:05:29; 10 Philemon Rono (Ken) 2:05:37

Top Spaniard:  12 Ayad Lamdassem 2:06:35 (national record)

Women: 1 Peres Jepchirchir (Ken) 2:17:16; 2 Joyciline Jepkosgei (Ken) 2:18:40; 3 Helalia Johannes (Nam) 2:19:52; 4 Zeineba Yimer (Eth) 2:19:54; 5 Tigist Girma (Eth) 2:19:56; 6 Degitu Azemiraw (Eth) 2:19:56; 7 Ruti Aga (Eth) 2:20:05; 8 Joan Chelimo (Ken) 2:20:57; 9 Birhane Dibaba (Eth) 2:23:07; 10 Fancy Chemutai (Ken) 2:24:27

Top Spaniard: 13 Marta Guasch 2:27:08

Story by Stephen Granger

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