VALENCIA, SPAIN, December 07 — On the rebound from a DNF in Chicago in October, John Kipkosgei (AKA John Korir) landed in the Valencia Marathon then took off from the lead pack at 25K and flew through a 60:37 second half to close out a dominant win with a 2:02:24 PR.
“I enjoy running the Valencia Marathon,” Kipkosgei said with a smile. “It is so flat and people are cheering us on. I think now I’m in a good place and I say thanks to the people of Valencia. They helped me run my PB.”
A minute later the Valencia tradition of handing out National Record placards began as Tokyo WC silver medalist Amanal Petros crossed 2nd in 2:04:03 to reclaim the German Record. Petros also rebounded well from his oh-so-close finish in Tokyo, tearing through his second half in 61:22.
Awet Kibrab stuck with Petros through 39K and finished in 2:04:24 gaining both the podium and the Norwegian Record. Suguru Osako sprinted across the line 4th in 2:04:55 beating Kengo Suzuki’s Japanese Record by a mere second.
Gashau Ayale (2:05:29) and Justus Kangogo (2:06:11) followed, then 2024 Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee crossed 7th in 2:06:38, second fastest ever for a Briton — trailing only Mo Farah.
Kipkosgei — who won Chicago ’24 and Boston ’25 with punishing finishes — admitted, “It didn’t go well in Chicago” this fall. He arrived in Valencia looking to get after it with a 61 opening half. (Kipkosgei was known as John Korir to T&FN at the time of those previous races)
The 29-year-old Kenyan’s veteran coach Ron Mann had a more prudent idea: “It was really important that he run with the competition and the pacemakers in the first half of the race. That was set up intentionally so that he could close strong. That’s one of the things we’re working on, closing that last half of the race, and really showing that is his strength.”
Coach prevailed and Kipkosgei was content to stroll through a 14:38 opening 5K — 2:03:27 pace. Valencia course record holder (2:01:48) Sisay Lemma ran in the 5-man lead group along with Kenyans Hillary Kipkoech and Justus Kangogo and Ethiopian debutant Gemechu Dida.
With Kipkosgei chilling, no one seemed interested in moving the needle off mid-2:03, and the two pacers delivered subsequent 5K segments of 14:40, 14:33, 14:44 and 14:43. They crossed halfway in 61:47 and reached 25K in 1:13:18 — 2:03:43 pace.
Slow by Valencia standards, but not a bad tourist pace as Kipkosgei noted: “My coach told me to enjoy the first half, so I said to myself, ‘Go to sleep and enjoy the rest.’ I was also enjoying seeing how beautiful Valencia is. After that, I came back to racing and I tried to push myself and see how fast I can run.”
Right at 25K Kipkosgei cut loose, accelerating through a 2:48 K and the race was on. That is for about 2 minutes as Kipkosgei was soon well away on a solo high-paced 17K tempo run to the finish. His four competitors lost ground and were overtaken by the second group.
Kipkosgei recalled, “When I started pushing, I saw the projected time was high 2:03, and I knew I could run 2:02. I said let me try and see if I can push and manage to run 2:02.”
Long and lean, Kipkosgei hit a forward-leaning stride similar to the late Kelvin Kiptum’s as he sped through the final three 5K segments in 14:13, 14:26 and 14:13, then blasted the final 2195m in 6:14.
Like his 2:02:44 win last year in Chicago, Kipkosgei closed with a sub-61 finishing half. In doing so, he claimed his fifth marathon win and moved up to become the No. 8 all-time performer with the No. 12 all-time performance.
Even more impressive was Kipkosgei’s 49:07 split over the final 17,195m — 2:51.3 per kilometer or 2:00:30 marathon pace. His trademark move was back.
“I was just coming to Valencia to win and bring the Kipkosgei name back to the map for the World Record. I tried it in Chicago and I see that it is possible. If [Valencia’s elite athlete coordinator] Marc Roig welcomes me back next year, we’ll come and try again and see how it runs.”
Kipkosgei concluded, “I am going to work hard and try to improve my time each year and maybe one day one time I will be World Record holder.”
Behind Kipkosgei, the Eritrean-born duo of Petros and Kibrab were in full flight pursuit of podium finishes and national records.
Petros called Valencia “my second home since debuting in 2019” and a good place for moving on shortly after Tokyo. “I focused on recovery first and trusted my training in Kenya, and I was able to rebuild both physically and mentally.”
As for his race plan: “I wanted to respect my body after Tokyo, so the plan was to start conservatively. I found my rhythm early in the second half and felt stronger with every kilometer, and it felt incredible to move through the field like that. Retaining the German record means a lot to me because it shows my consistency and growth as an athlete.”
VALENCIA MARATHON MEN’S RESULTS
1. John Kipkosgei (Ken) 2:02:24 (8, 12 W);
2. Amanal Petros (Ger) 2:04:03 NR; 3. Awet Nftalem Kibrab (Nor) 2:04:24 NR; 4. Suguru Osako (Jpn) 2:04:55 NR; 5. Gashau Ayale (Isr) 2:05:29; 6. Justus Kangogo (Ken) 2:06:11; 7. Alex Yee (GB) 2:06:38 PR; 8. Félix Bour (Fra) 2:06:41 PR; 9. Filmon Tesfu (Neth) 2:06:42 PR; 10. Gemechu Dida (Eth) 2:06:45 PR; 11. Hendrik Pfeiffer (Ger) 2:06:46 PR; 12. Samuel Fitwi Sibhatu (Ger) 2:07:01; 13. Phil Sesemann (GB) 2:07:11 PR; 14. Edward Cheserek (Ken) 2:07:14; 15. Patrick Mosin (Ken) 2:07:18 PR; 16. Ibrahim Chakir (Spa) 2:07:21 PR; 17. Valentin Gondouin (Fra) 2:07:55 PR.
