January 9, 2025. The 10K Valencia Ibercaja by Kiprun, which sold out on December 22nd, breaks its record of 15,000 runners in what will be its most international edition. The race, which celebrates its 17th edition this year, will take place this coming Sunday, January 12, inaugurating as every year the race calendar in Valencia.
Participants, who will once again enjoy the best 10K in Spain and the fastest in the world to the rhythm, as is now tradition, of Chimo Bayo's Hu-Ha!, will start at the Paseo de la Alameda at 9:30 a.m., with up to 13 different starts.
These data have been advanced at the presentation ceremony, which took place at Decathlon Campanar, where the Race Fair is being held for three full days, and which was opened by Julien Vancauwenberghe, Marketing Manager of Kiprun, the new official sports brand of the race.
From Kiprun, Decathlon's specialized running brand, "we are very excited about this union with the 10K Valencia, a union that we hope will be very long. Our goal, above all, is to further enhance the runners' experience." "We would like to thank the organization and Valencia for the opportunity they have given us to be part of this great event".
Julien Vancauwenberghe has highlighted that this Sunday Kiprun athletes will also join the starting line of the Valencian show looking for their best marks. In addition, he recalled that during the weekend Kiprun has organized several actions around the test as is the previous shooting on Saturday morning, where runners can meet the Valencian athlete Victor Ruiz and the rest of the Kiprun team. They will also coincide with the pilots that this year will help the runners to achieve their goals.
Likewise, Kiprun has chosen Valencia to premiere the documentary 42 House, an iconic training site in Iten (Kenya) where its athletes train. The premiere will take place on Saturday afternoon at the Hotel Exe Rey Don Jaime.
The event was also attended, among others, by the Councilor for Sports of the City of Valencia, Rocío Gil; the provincial director of Ibercaja in Valencia, José Gil; the director of the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, Juan Miguel Gómez; and the president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, a charity organization, Tomás Trénor. Also present were representatives of other sponsoring brands and members of the main running clubs participating in the event, as well as Chimo Bayo.
José Gil, provincial director of Ibercaja Valencia, main sponsor of the race, stressed that "it is a great pride for Ibercaja to accompany Valencia in a national and international benchmark event. It is another example of our commitment to this territory, for what its celebration entails for this wonderful city and Valencians, and also for what the practice of this sport means for the welfare and health and for the values it promotes, as is also reflected in the more than 90 Ibercaja colleagues participating in the 10K and 5K races next Sunday".
The 10K Valencia, a focus of attraction for foreign runners
During the meeting, the director of the 10K Valencia Ibercaja, Alex Aparicio, stressed that every year the 10K Valencia attracts more participants from outside Valencia, and even from Spain, "being that it is not so common for runners to travel to another country to participate in a race with a distance of 10 kilometers".
"All the provinces of Spain are represented with about 5000 runners, highlighting after Valencia, the provinces of Alicante, Castellón, Madrid, Albacete, Murcia and Zaragoza". In addition, continued Aparicio, "about 3000 people come from outside Spain to run the 10K with 90 nationalities represented, among which stand out after Spain, in this order, United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany".
Another noteworthy fact is that 17% of those registered made their debut in the 10K distance, "which shows that every year more and more runners want to participate in this race, which has become an attraction for both first-time runners and those who come with the aim of improving their personal best".
Increased female participation
The Councilor for Sports of the City of Valencia, Rocio Gil, said that the data of this edition confirms that Valencia is the perfect city of attraction for sports tourism, "which shows that things are being done well, and with love, work and enthusiasm".
He also highlighted the considerable increase in female participation in both distances. "A 35% of those registered in the 10K are women, which represents a growth of 4% over the past. It is the highest percentage so far in these 17 editions," said Gil, who added that in the 5K this percentage "continues to rise and in its 3rd edition of this 2024 reaches 62% of registered women."
Solidarity with cancer patients affected by the dana
During the presentation, the president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer in Valencia, Tomás Trénor, wanted to thank the race for thinking, for the second consecutive year, in the Association to be solidarity entity this year. In addition, this year the cause is more special if possible, since the solidarity contributions of the runners will go entirely to the social aid that the Association has launched for cancer patients and their families affected by the disease.
The best of Europe, in the 10K
In terms of sports, Alex Aparicio stressed that the 10K Valencia Ibercaja by Kiprun will again offer a great show with a cast of elite athletes from more than twenty countries in search of their best marks in the city of running. In addition, he recalled that as usual in the 10K Valencia, in men "we find a list that stands out for the good level of European athletes, who come with the aim of breaking the European record," which is currently held by Etienne Daguinos (27:04, Lille 2024).
5K Valencia Vamos and 10Kids Valencia Quirónsalud
In this edition, the 10K Valencia will celebrate for the third consecutive year its parallel 5K. The 5K Valencia Vamos will have 1500 participants, who will start from the Paseo de la Alameda (Puente de las Flores) at 8:25 am and will cross the same finish line as the main event before the runners take the start of the 10K from the two roads of the Alameda.
But the day before the two races, some 800 young runners, from 0 to 16 years old, will enjoy the weekend party by joining the 10Kids Valencia Quirónsalud. The children's races return to their origins and will be held on the previous Saturday, January 11, starting at 11:00 a.m. at the Estadi del Túria athletics track.
The proceeds of the 10Kids for the sale of bibs is 100% solidarity, since the full amount will go to the platform "Mueve un dedo por Miguel", through the Association "Por esa sonrisa" of Albal, to help a young paraplegic affected by dana, who lives connected to a machine to breathe.
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