Defending champion, Kenyan John Korir, announced on social media that he will return to the Valencia Marathon: “See you at the Valencia Marathon, my next stop.”
That means he'll face off directly against Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who ran under two hours in his marathon debut.
At the same time, the Valencia organizers have released part of the men's and women's elite fields — a showdown for the ages is about to erupt.
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Korir VS Kejelcha
Witness another sub-2 hour moment?
John Korir last year won in Valencia with a PB of 2:02:24. He has carried that form into this year: six days before the London Marathon he ran 2:01:52 at the Boston Marathon, breaking a course record that had stood for 14 years. Running into the 2:02 range in Boston is highly significant.
Yomif Kejelcha made his marathon debut at this year's London Marathon, running 1:59:41 to become the second person in history to go sub-2 hours and the fastest ever on a marathon debut. Valencia will be only his second marathon.
The Valencia course is no stranger to him. In 2024 he set the half marathon world record there with 57:30. He has also won the Valencia Half Marathon twice, in 2019 and 2025, and finished second in 2022 and 2023.
Image source: London Marathon official
Beyond Korir and Kejelcha, this year's Valencia field is very deep. There are two athletes with PBs under 2:04 — Alexander Munyao (PB 2:03:11) and Dawit Wolde (PB 2:03:48) — and three others around 2:04: Nibret Melak (2:04:00), Leul Gebreselassie (2:04:02) and Awet Kibrab (2:04:24).
The London Marathon's combination of timing, course and deep elite field is what made the first human sub-2 hour achievement possible. The Valencia Marathon has similar conditions — could we witness another sub-2 hour moment?
02
Defending champion VS the fastest women's marathon debut
The women's race is equally compelling. Joyciline Jepkosgei set a personal best of 2:14:00 in Valencia last year and will return this year to defend her title.
Her biggest rival is Fotyen Tesfay, the fastest woman on a marathon debut; Tesfay won the Barcelona Marathon this year in 2:10:51, becoming the second-fastest woman in history.Tesfay also competed twice in the Valencia Half Marathon, finishing second in 2024 and 2025 with times of 1:03:21 and 1:05:10.
So how will the duel between the two play out — who will have the last laugh? Is there a chance we’ll see a women's world record?
Image source: Barcelona Marathon official
Also in the women's elite field is Lilian Kasait, who debuted this year at the Daegu Marathon with 2:19:35; she has also run the Valencia Half Marathon, finishing third in 2024 with 1:03:32.
American national record holder Emily Sisson (2:18:29) and Kenya's Winnie Jepkosgei (in her debut) will also compete. The full elite fields will be announced in October.
The 2026 Valencia Marathon will be held on December 6, the same day as the Shanghai Marathon. Run/watch Shanghai in the morning and catch Valencia in the afternoon — it's going to be a busy weekend.
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Text/Editor: CC
Images: 跑野大爆炸
Visuals: Max
