When it comes to the world's fastest marathon courses, the Valencia Marathon is undoubtedly one of the most prominent each year in early December, elite runners from around the world converge here—the flat, sea-level course, cool, pleasant race-day weather, and deep pacer groups keep Valencia producing fast, surprising results year after year.
Recently,EthiopianstarYomif·Kejelcha（ Yomif Kejelcha ）has officially confirmed he will compete in this year's Valencia Marathon.Kejelchahas won the Valencia half marathon three times and broke the half marathon world record at the time. He did not choose Berlin like Savina but returned to Valencia, and this choice alsoalso indirectly confirms Valencia's standing among elite runners.
As the Valencia Marathon has grown stronger, people couldn't help but link it with the current top-tier World Marathon Majors World Marathon Majors, would this dazzling marquee event next join WMM the WMM 'establishment'? Recently Valencia officials gave the answer—NO!
Valencia Marathon CEO Juan Manuel Botella made it clear in an interview that the event currently has no plans to seek joining the World Marathon Majors. He revealed this decision is mainly a financial consideration——at this stage the costs required to join the World Marathon Majors are considered prohibitively high.
How much "money" does it actually take to join the World Marathon Majors? Although there is no published price list, based on available information it represents an extremely large, systemic investment.
First, entering the "system" requires a hefty "joining fee." Second, maintaining Majors-level operating costs is ongoing. The Majors set high standards across multiple dimensions—athlete experience, organization and logistics, elite athlete services, media coverage, and sustainability—which means the resources available to a race get divided among many areas.
For the Valencia Marathon, stepping away from the Majors is not a passive retreat but a clear strategic choice."Fast" is Valencia's current core tag, and by not joining the Majors it can instead concentrate resources on building its own identity, directing funds to where they most attract elite runners: large prize purses and appearance fees.
The actions of the race organizers also proved this.Long before Yomif Kejelcha's full marathon debut, the organizers had already engaged in in-depth discussions with him about participation. This time they obtained Kejelcha's approval, it is believed the organizers showed great sincerity behind the scenes and offered generous financial compensation for the 'invitation'.
Currently, the Valencia Marathon awards €80,000 (about RMB 630,000) to the men's and women's champions, a course record bonus of €30,000 (about RMB 236,000), and an astonishing €1,000,000 (about RMB 7,880,000).
At this year's London Marathon, Sawei's prize money was approximately RMB 2.57 million, Kejelcha received about 1.23 million RMB. By comparison, Kejelcha will be even more motivated to challenge the world record when he runs the Valencia Marathon at the end of the year.
By contrast, events that have joined or are applying to join the World Marathon Majors in recent years——Sydney, Cape Town, Shanghai——stand to receive a dramatic 'carp leaping over the dragon gate' style boost through the World Marathon Majors system,This is how the hefty joining fees become 'worthwhile'.
After the World Marathon Majors consolidated its brand value in the first phase by relying on the "Big Six," its second-phase expansion has clearly shifted toward commercialization. Maximizing economic returns is its primary concern; as a result, it is more inclined to promote "newcomers" and collect a hefty "support fee" than to lower the "entrance price" to recruit a "star" to join.
So, it's understandable that the chief executive of the Valencia Marathon would describe the "costs" as "high."
In fact, as early as after the 2023 Valencia Marathon,there were threads on the LetsRun forum discussing whether Valencia should join the World Marathon Majors.
Many runners believe Valencia has already established a unique brand in the niche of "professional racing","which serious runner doesn't know Valencia." Meanwhile, the World Marathon Majors are positioned among recreational runners more as "popular entertainment" and "medal collecting",this will "dilute" Valencia's professional racing character.
At the same time, an interesting point emerged in the discussion: Valencia, as a non-World Marathon Majors member, can precisely playthe "catfish effect," providing ongoing competitive pressure on the existing majors — if the World Marathon Majors want to keep their status as a "top club," they must continually optimize themselves and cannot be complacent. That is undoubtedly positive for the global development of marathon running.
Choosing "not to join" was clearly a well-considered decision by the organizers; it is not only pragmatic but also confident. They have a clear understanding of their core competitive strengths and brand value, and have soberly weighed the costs and benefits behind the World Marathon Majors title.
For runners chasing personal bests and records, the Valencia Marathon has already established itself as a jewel in the crown of global road racing—whether or not it holds a World Marathon Majors title.
