When it comes to the world's fastest marathon courses, the Valencia Marathon is unquestionably one of the most high-profile events,Every year12in the early days of the month, elite runners from around the world converge there — a mirror-flat, sea-level course, cool pleasant race-day weather, and a deep pool of pacemakers,allowing Valencia to keep producing surprises year after year.
Recently,EthiopianstarYomif·Kejelcha（ Yomif Kejelcha ）has officially confirmed he will compete in this year’s Valencia Marathon. Kejelchahas won Valencia’s half marathon three times and once broke the half‑marathon world record at the time. Rather than choosing Berlin like Savina, he is returning to Valencia — a decision thatunderscores Valencia’s standing in the minds of elite runners.
As the Valencia Marathon grows ever stronger, people naturally begin to compare it with the current top‑levelWorld Marathon Majors World Marathon Majors — will this extremely high‑profile showcase event next be folded into theWMM “inner ranks” of the series? Recently Valencia’s officials gave an answer —NO！
Valencia Marathon CEO JuanManuel Botella made clear in an interview that the race currently has no plans to seek entry into the Majors. He revealed this decision is primarily driven by financial considerations —the costs required at this stage to join the World Marathon Majors are considered prohibitively high。
How much does it actually take to join the World Marathon Majors?"Money"? Although there is no published price list, from available information this is an extremely large, systemic investment.
First, entering the "system" requires a hefty "joining fee." Second, maintaining Major-level operations entails ongoing costs. The Majors set high standards for athlete experience,organization and logistics, elite athlete services, media coverage, sustainability and other dimensions — which means the resources at the race's disposal will be split across multiple areas.
For the Valencia Marathon, foregoing the Majors is not a passive retreat but a clear strategic choice."Fast" is Valencia's primary current branding; not joining the Majors instead allows itto concentrate resources on building its own identity, directing funds to what most attracts elite runners: high prize money and appearance fees.。
The race organizers' actions also demonstrate this. Even before Kejelcha's full marathon debut, the organizers had already held in-depth discussions with him about participation; on this occasion they obtained Kejelcha's approval,It is believedthe organizers showed great sincerity behind the scenes, paying generous financial compensation for the "invitation."
Currently, the Valencia Marathon offers €80,000 (about RMB 630,000) to the men's and women's champions, and €30,000(about RMB 236,000), and the bonus for breaking the world record is an astonishing €1,000,000(about RMB 7.88 million).
At this year's London Marathon, Savi's prize money was approximately RMB2.57 million, Kejelcha received about123 ten-thousand RMB. By comparison, KeJie'ercha will be even more driven to challenge the world record when running in Valencia at the end of the year.
By contrast, in recent years events that have joined or are applying to join the Grand Slam.—Sydney, Cape Town, Shanghai—what the Grand Slam system produces is a leap like a carp vaulting over the Dragon Gate,This is the only way to make the high franchise fees worth it.
After the World Grand Slam Alliance completed the first phase of solidifying its brand value through the "Big Six," its second-phase expansion has clearly shifted focus to commercialization, with maximizing economic benefit as its top priority. Consequently, it is more inclined to take "newcomers" under its wing and collect a hefty "development fee" than to lower the "price of admission" to invite a single "ace" to join.
So,The CEO of the Valencia Marathon said it was only to be expected that "the costs are high."
In fact, as early as shortly after the 2023 Valencia Marathon,On the LetsRun forum there was a thread discussing whether Valencia should join the Grand Slam.
Many runners believe that Valencia has already...The subfield of "professional racing" has built a uniquely distinctive reputation—"which serious runner doesn’t know Valencia?" Meanwhile, the Grand Slam framework is positioned among recreational runners more as "popular entertainment" and "medal collecting."This will "dilute" Valencia's professional racing identity.
At the same time, a rather interesting viewpoint also emerged during the discussion: Valencia, as a non‑Grand Slam event, can precisely play a role.The "catfish effect" has created a sustained competitive stimulus for the existing Grand Slams.— If the Grand Slam events want to retain their status as a "top-tier club," they must continuously self-optimize and cannot be content with the status quo. This is undoubtedly a good thing for the development of marathons worldwide.
Choosing "not to join" was clearly the result of careful deliberation by the event organizers; the decision was not only pragmatic but also confident. They have a clear understanding of their core competitive strengths and brand value, and have soberly assessed the costs and benefits behind a Grand Slam title.
For runners chasing personal bests and records, the Valencia Marathon has firmly established itself as the jewel in the crown of global road racing.—Whether or not it has a Grand Slam title.
