The Valencia Marathon 2025 took place this past weekend on December 7th, and we travelled up to watch it. The atmosphere buzzed from early morning and the runners made marathon running look almost effortless.
I’ve watched a few Valencia Marathons over the years while John raced.
This year, for the first time, he stood on the other side of the blue road as a spectator, which gave the whole day a different feel for him
The city is beautiful and Valencia knows how to lift the energy for marathon day. This race ranks as the fourth fastest marathon in the world with a course record of 2:01:48, and you can see why.
Valencia Marathon 2025 Results
John Korir of Kenya won in 2:02:24. The women’s race brought a new course record with the winner, Joyciline Jepkosgei, finishing in 2:14:00, the fourth fastest women’s marathon time in history. British athlete Alex Yee, the Olympic triathlon champion, ran a brilliant 2:06:38 after only taking up marathon running in April.
This year, more than 500 runners crossed the finish in under two and a half hours and over 5,500 runners broke three hours. Like I said, they made it look easy.
Valencia Marathon Course
The course starts and finishes in the City of Arts and Sciences, an iconic cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia. As you make the last turn off the road with around 500m to go, you follow a blue runway right to the finish line. This runway is built over the water and feels a little strange after pounding the roads for over 40k as it has a bit of give underfoot, but the feeling of reaching this point in the marathon must be amazing. Here the crowds go wild and the noise is deafening as you make your way to your marathon finish.
The marathon course takes in a lot of the city’s beauty spots from historic streets to wide open roads. For spectators, it is possible to catch a glimpse of your runners a few times just by travelling along the Turia Garden, a beautiful park with cycle lanes and huge green spaces. The park was actually a former riverbed which was going to be transformed into a major transportation route. However, a massive public movement for it to remain as a green space won the battle.
The course has great support throughout and the hydration points are well spaced. There are volunteers everywhere to help guide you along. One thing I would recommend is to work out your meeting points at the finish as the crowds make it difficult to find people. (speaking from past experience!) We found the Saler Shopping Centre to be an ideal place to meet up as it is close to where the runners funnel out.
Valencia Marathon Weather
Yes, the sun shines a lot in Spain but remember it is December. That means cooler mornings and evenings. However there is usually a good burst of sunshine in the afternoon, maybe not ideal for some of the later waves in the race.
Be prepared to be cold in the morning as you wait for your wave to get going. Last year, as a spectator, I needed gloves and a hat for the early part of the race but these were all discarded by the afternoon when we were sitting outside in t-shirts enjoying a beverage.
Runners, have a throw away for the morning but expect temperatures to reach 17 to 25 degrees celsius in the afternoon, so dress accordingly.
A Sunny & Festive Marathon
With the Valencia Marathon taking place just a few weeks before Christmas, you will definitely get a flavour of Spanish Festive Cheer. The Plaza de la Ayuntamiento is a must to see with its huge Christmas tree taking centre stage.
This is a marathon you should have no problem gathering supporters for. With beautiful, festive scenery, great shopping and some winter sun to top it all, it makes a great city break. Just get the marathon done and dusted and spend a few days afterwards taking in the city. It is definitely worth sticking around this city for a few extra days.
Lets Talk About Registration for 2026
You need to make your mind up within the next week if this is a marathon you would like to do in 2026. As with pretty much all the big city marathons, not just the majors, getting a place in next year’s race is not guaranteed. Yes, there is a ballot for this one too.
From the 11th to the 15th of December anyone who participated or had a place for 2025 will have a preferential registration period. After this whatever places are left go out to a ballot.
This ballot opens on December 16th until December 26th, closing at 11:00am Spanish Time.
If you are lucky enough to get a place you will be notified and have 12 days to complete the registration and payment. Don’t Forget to do this!
If you have no luck with this there will be a waiting list for places that become available later on. Go to the official website to find out more.
Valencia Marathon 2026 - Will we see you there?
From a Valencia marathon runner and spectator point of view, we highly recommend this event. A fast, flat course, an amazing city to experience, history, culture, food, shopping, Christmas festivities and did I mention the fast, flat course? Get your entry in for next year and see for yourself.
Mark your calendar for the registration period and watch out for your (hopefully) successful email and above all don’t neglect to complete the registration process.
This marathon fits perfectly into our, 12 Month Breakthrough Program, where we help you to transform your life through the power of running. Commit to running a marathon by the end of the year, no matter whether you are a complete beginner or a runner now already. We will guide you through the year working on your physical and mental well being so that you become the person you always knew you could be. Just imagine yourself crossing that blue bridge or whatever finish line you choose and feeling so proud of the person you have become.
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