Spanish roads could see record-breaking performances on Sunday as athletes don their supershoes instead of cross-country shoes.
The World Cross Country Championships ended muddier this week, as many of Britain’s top distance runners chose the roads of Valencia, Spain, instead of this weekend’s world off-road meeting in Tallahassee, Florida.
Eilish McColgan, Emile Cairess, Scott Beattie, Abbie Donnelly, Hugo Milner, Zak and Mahamed Mahamed are among the British participants in the “10K Valencia Ibercaja by Kiprun” on Sunday (January 11).
They are part of a field of 16,000 participants and Great Britain is second only to the Spanish, the host country, in the number of runners participating.
Instead of chasing medals and prestige in Tallahassee, Valencia athletes chase national or European records, in some cases world records, or at least a PB.
Valencia have some form in this area. The two current 10km world records (26:38 by Joshua Cheptegei and 28:46 by Agnes Ngetich) were set in Valencia, in addition to the men’s European record.
Andreas Almgren occupies this last mark with 26:53 and will try to improve that mark on Sunday.
McColgan saw her European record broken by Belgium’s Jana Van Lent on January 4, but she will look to get it back on Sunday. The 35-year-old was busy over the festive period training at altitude, at one point clearing snow from the inside lanes of the track to complete a session.
McColgan’s best time of 30:19 was achieved in a women-only race in Manchester in 2022.
Other notable British entrants include Cairess, who has not raced since dropping out in the final stages of the marathon at the Tokyo World Championships, although he accompanied Alex Yee and Phil Sesemann to the Valencia Marathon last month.
Beattie finished fourth at the European Cross Country Championships in December in Portugal, but as we enter the new year he clearly prefers racing in Valencia rather than Tallahassee. The long flight to the United States could have had something to do with his decision.
With Cairess and Beattie in the race, Rory Leonard’s British record of 27:38, also set in Valencia 12 months ago, is in danger.
Other Brits in Valencia include Alice Goodhall, Lizzie Wellsted, Natasha Phillips, Hannah Irwin, Andy Butchart, Alfie Manthorpe, Charlie and George Wheeler.
José Enrique Muñoz Acuña, race director in Valencia, states: “The response from the runners has been impressive, with record numbers of entries and an elite group willing to break historical records. Valencia has established itself as one of the fastest circuits in the world and we hope to see great performances on January 11.”
Main entries here.
