Organizers Release the Final Elite Start Lists for the Valencia Half Marathon

Kenenisa Bekele is entered a month after withdrawing from Berlin, while Rodrigue Kwizera and Yalemzerf Yehualaw bring the fastest bests to Sunday’s race.

Published: Oct 24, 2026 11:48 pm

Jessy Carveth

Jessy Carveth

Jessy is our Senior News Editor, pro cyclist and former track and field athlete with a Bachelors degree in Kinesiology.

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Kenenisa Bekele is on the final elite start list for Sunday’s Valencia Half Marathon, a month after an Achilles injury in training pulled him out of the Berlin Marathon. The 44-year-old will wear bib 4 in a men’s field led by Rodrigue Kwizera, whose 58:16 from Prague in March is the fastest best on the list and just 10 seconds slower than the European record Andreas Almgren set in Copenhagen in September.

Jemal Yimer (58:33) and Tadese Worku, who ran 58:35 for fourth in the half-marathon at the world road running championships, are the quickest Ethiopians behind Kwizera, with Kenyans Owen Kapkama (58:58), Daniel Ebenyo (59:04) and Alex Matata (59:11) next in line. In all, 11 of the 155 men have broken an hour. Among the runners without a half-marathon on their record, keep an eye on Khairi Bejiga. The 20-year-old Ethiopian has run 26:51 for 10K twice this year, and his training partner Nibret Kinde is one of the four men’s pacemakers.

Organizers Release the Final Elite Start Lists for the Valencia Half Marathon 1

Yalemzerf Yehualaw heads the 89-woman field with the 1:03:51 she ran in Valencia in 2021, and Sunday will be her first race since having a baby. Tsigie Gebreselama (1:04:21), a two-time winner of the Lisbon Half Marathon, and Paris Half Marathon champion Ftaw Zeray (1:05:12) are next on the list, and Kenya’s Veronica Loleo arrives with a silver medal from Copenhagen, where she finished behind Agnes Ngetich. Spain’s Carla Gallardo will go after her own national record of 1:08:30, while Emily Venters (1:08:48) and Allie Ostrander (1:10:11) are the only Americans in the women’s race.

Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Said Mechaal and Andrea Kiptoo were named when organizers first announced the fields in September, and none of them made the final list. The course records belong to Yomif Kejelcha, who ran 57:30 in 2024, and Letesenbet Gidey, whose 1:02:52 from 2021 is still the fastest half-marathon any woman has run. The race starts at 8:25 a.m. local time (3:25 a.m. ET) and streams free on YouTube.

The fields below is sorted by personal best. Runners with no half-marathon best are listed separately with the mark organizers gave for them, which for most is a 10K.

Men’s Elite Field

Bib	Athlete	Country	PB
1	Rodrigue Kwizera	ESP	58:16
2	Jemal Yimer	ETH	58:33
3	Tadese Worku	ETH	58:35
5	Owen Kapkama	KEN	58:58
6	Daniel Ebenyo	KEN	59:04
8	Alex Matata	KEN	59:11
13	James Kipkogei	KEN	59:31
14	Emmanuel Roudolff	FRA	59:37
15	Samuel Barata	POR	59:40
16	Thierry Ndikumwenayo	ESP	59:42
20	Mohamed Ismail	DJI	59:45
18	Moses Cheruiyot	KEN	1:00:00
4	Kenenisa Bekele	ETH	1:00:22
19	Tomoya Ogikubo	JPN	1:00:22
21	Pasquale Selvarolo	ITA	1:00:32
23	Jacob Simonsen	DEN	1:00:44
24	Melkeneh Azize	ETH	1:00:47
25	Ben Connor	GBR	1:00:55
26	Senay Fissehatsion	ERI	1:00:55
27	Jan Lukas Becker	GER	1:01:20
28	Charles Wheeler	GBR	1:01:28
29	Koen Naert	BEL	1:01:34
30	Rui Pinto	POR	1:01:52
31	Miguel Borges	POR	1:01:54
32	Chandler Gibbens	USA	1:01:57
33	Yago Rojo	ESP	1:01:57
47	Bas Van Hooren	NED	1:02:04
48	Mateusz Kaczor	POL	1:02:06
49	Jacob Boutera	NOR	1:02:08
50	Stan Niesten	NED	1:02:09
52	Yoann Kowal	FRA	1:02:17
53	Ben Preisner	CAN	1:02:24
54	Jacob Thomson	USA	1:02:26
55	Alexis Godefroy	FRA	1:02:28
56	Jonathan Dahlke	GER	1:02:29
57	Adel Mechaal	ESP	1:02:30
58	Clément Deflandre	BEL	1:02:33
60	Arnaud Collard	BEL	1:02:43
61	Anthony Raftis	USA	1:02:46
62	Jonathan Hofer	SUI	1:02:51
63	Adam Nowicki	POL	1:02:51
64	Achille Bogaert	FRA	1:02:52
65	Adam Lomb	HUN	1:02:52
67	Yohan Durand	FRA	1:02:55
68	Freedom Amaniel	ITA	1:02:57
69	Jona Bodirsky	GER	1:02:59
70	Tommy Bangjord	NOR	1:03:06
71	Alex Cyr	CAN	1:03:11
72	Igor Bougnot	FRA	1:03:16
74	Finley Proffitt	GBR	1:03:19
75	Hudson Grimshaw-Surette	CAN	1:03:20
76	Brice Morisseau	FRA	1:03:20
77	Jesús Olmos	ESP	1:03:21
78	Pablo Alba Sanz	ESP	1:03:21
79	Duarte Gomes	POR	1:03:22
80	Levente Szemerei	HUN	1:03:25
81	Guillaume Cachelin	SUI	1:03:25
82	Andrew Fyfe	GBR	1:03:29
83	Cristian Martinez	ESP	1:03:30
85	Augustin Cablant	FRA	1:03:34
84	Baptiste Jard	FRA	1:03:35
86	Abdirahman Mohamed	NED	1:03:38
87	Gianluca Assorgia	NED	1:03:38
88	Artur Bossy	ESP	1:03:39
89	Eliott Tissier	FRA	1:03:43
90	Joris Keppens	BEL	1:03:48
91	Aziz Boukebal	FRA	1:03:54
92	Roberto Alaiz	ESP	1:03:55
93	Francisco Rodrigues	POR	1:03:58
94	Teo Dubuc	FRA	1:03:59
95	Edward Buck	GBR	1:04:04
96	Giovanni Susca	ITA	1:04:07
97	Nasser Allali	FRA	1:04:08
98	Keelan Kilrehill	IRL	1:04:10
99	Mathias Flak	NOR	1:04:10
100	François Guilhot	FRA	1:04:10
102	Xavier Badia	ESP	1:04:20
103	Artur Beimler	GER	1:04:24
104	Adriá Ceballos	ESP	1:04:27
105	Samuel Afewerki	ERI	1:04:28
106	Max Nores	GER	1:04:31
109	Nicolas Dalmasso	FRA	1:04:45
111	Oliwier Mutwil	POL	1:04:49
112	Max Polak	NED	1:04:51
113	Jacob Dahl	DEN	1:04:51
114	Ben Felton	GBR	1:04:52
116	Mohamed Boutmazguine	MAR	1:04:56
117	Victor Smangs	SWE	1:04:57
118	Francesco Nardone	ITA	1:04:59
131	Abdi Hassan	NED	1:05:03
132	Joao Fernandes	POR	1:05:04
133	Roger Sans	ESP	1:05:05
134	Auxence Denise	FRA	1:05:08
135	Joao Pereira	POR	1:05:08
138	Max Abernethy	GBR	1:05:13
139	Francisco Serrano	ESP	1:05:13
140	Alexis Turpin	FRA	1:05:14
141	Oussama Zeroual	MAR	1:05:16
143	Carl Avery	GBR	1:05:27
144	Tomislav Novosel	CRO	1:05:30
145	Bastian Mrochen	GER	1:05:38
151	Benjamin Grenetier	FRA	1:05:40
152	Christopher Coulson	GBR	1:05:40
153	Thys Moreau	BEL	1:05:42
154	Dillon Cassar	MLT	1:05:43
155	Fernando González	ESP	1:05:45
156	Ruben Monreal	ESP	1:05:45
157	Hannes Burger	GER	1:05:47
159	Josep Gómez Sarriá	ESP	1:05:51
160	Sam Griffiths	GBR	1:05:51
161	Floris Willeboordse	NED	1:05:52
162	Enoque Buchegger	GER	1:05:54
163	Ugur Altan	GBR	1:05:58

Men Listed With a Best at Another Distance

Bib	Athlete	Country	Best
10	Khairi Bejiga	ETH	26:51
11	Maxime Chaumeton	RSA	26:55
34	Victor Kipruto	KEN	27:10
35	Jack O’Leary	GBR	27:41
36	Djilali Bedrani	FRA	27:45
38	Callum Morgan	IRL	28:08
39	Tom Förster	GER	28:12
40	Miguel Baidal Marco	ESP	28:17.99
41	Aaron las Heras	ESP	28:19.43
43	Yaseen Abdalla	SUD	28:33.38
44	Marcin Biskup	POL	28:51
45	Roger Suria	ESP	28:52
46	Freddy Richardson	GBR	28:57
119	Wondimu Bussy	SUI	29:07
121	Theodor Jacobsen	NOR	29:17
122	Lawrence McCourt	GBR	29:19
123	Miles Avalos	CAN	29:22
124	Ivan Manceñido	ESP	29:23
125	Esteban Patiño	ESP	29:23
126	Javier Morales	ESP	29:25
127	Alejandro González	ESP	29:25
128	Amadeo Abal	ESP	29:26
129	Alejandro Pérez	ESP	29:27
130	Mickael Chaumond	FRA	29:30
164	Thomas Butler	GBR	29:31
165	Finn Brodie	GBR	29:39
166	Genís Fernández	ESP	29:41
167	Marc Guardia	ESP	29:42
168	Alejandro Sanvalero	ESP	29:43
169	Jeremy Dura	FRA	29:44
170	Linus Korsmeier	GER	29:44
171	Rubén Sánchez	ESP	29:47
172	Jorge Ruiz	ESP	29:47
179	Bakr Ettayebi	NOR	29:51
173	Joan Hidalgo	ESP	29:52
174	Sondre Arne Hoff	NOR	29:57
175	Ismael Allagui	ESP	29:59
176	Oliver Way	GBR	2:17:28 (marathon)
177	Iván Hernández Illán	ESP	2:18:43 (marathon)
178	Alexander Oiarbide	ESP	2:18:47 (marathon)
180	Miguel Risco	ESP	2:19:59 (marathon)
181	Gonzalo Parra Maestre	ESP	8:26.66 (steeplechase)

Men’s Pacemakers

Bib	Athlete	Country	Group
146	Brian Kipkore	KEN	Group 1
147	Nibret Kinde	ETH	Group 1
148	John Lomoni	KEN	Group 2
149	Elisha Kiprop	KEN	Group 2

Women’s Elite Field

Bib	Athlete	Country	PB
201	Yalemzerf Yehualaw	ETH	1:03:51
202	Tsigie Gebreselama	ETH	1:04:21
203	Ftaw Zeray	ETH	1:05:12
204	Daisilah Jerono	KEN	1:05:21
205	Mizan Alem	ETH	1:05:38
207	Veronica Loleo	KEN	1:05:46
212	Sheila Chepkirui	KEN	1:06:01
213	Senayet Getachew	ETH	1:06:05
214	Miriam Chebet	KEN	1:06:07
215	Jesca Chelangat	KEN	1:06:13
216	Caroline Gitonga	KEN	1:06:16
217	Mercy Chebwogen	KEN	1:06:33
218	Magdalena Shauri	TAN	1:06:37
219	Gladys Kwamboka	KEN	1:06:45
220	Purity Gitonga	KEN	1:06:50
222	Samantha Harrisson	GBR	1:07:10
223	Diana Wanza	KEN	1:07:31
225	Carla Gallardo	ESP	1:08:30
226	Wuga He	CHN	1:08:31
232	Alina Reh	GER	1:08:42
233	Lauren Ryan	AUS	1:08:43
234	Emily Venters	USA	1:08:48
235	Laura Luengo Caselles	ESP	1:08:50
236	Clara Evans	GBR	1:09:00
237	Irene Sánchez-Escribano	ESP	1:09:10
238	Lily Partridge	GBR	1:09:12
239	Marta Galimany	ESP	1:09:22
240	Meritxell Soler	ESP	1:09:30
243	Ester Navarrete	ESP	1:09:58
244	Rose Harvey	GBR	1:10:02
245	Allie Ostrander	USA	1:10:11
246	Lisa Merkel	GER	1:10:12
247	Louise Small	GBR	1:10:23
248	Kristine Engeset	NOR	1:10:32
250	Alicia Berzosa Martin	ESP	1:10:37
251	Monika Olejarz	POL	1:10:39
252	Charlotte Dannatt	GBR	1:10:42
253	Saida Meneses	PER	1:10:44
254	Susana Santos	POR	1:10:47
256	Ikram Rharsalla Laktab	ESP	1:11:05
257	Julia Mayer	AUT	1:11:09
258	Maor Tiyouri	ISR	1:11:09
259	Rosa Alva Chacha	ECU	1:11:23
260	Andrea Romero Escandell	ESP	1:11:27
261	Mariia Mazurenko	UKR	1:11:35
262	Monica Silva	POR	1:11:37
263	Jill Holterman	NED	1:11:41
264	Salomé Rocha	POR	1:11:42
265	María Ureña	ESP	1:12:41
266	Sabina Jarzabek	POL	1:12:42
267	Hannah Stegenwallner	GER	1:12:46
268	Devora Avrimova	BUL	1:12:52
269	Nancy Scott	GBR	1:13:01
270	Yvette Lock	GBR	1:13:03
271	Michaela Cepova	CZE	1:13:07
272	Kristine Rod	NOR	1:13:12
273	Alice Wright	GBR	1:13:17
274	Joselyn Brea	VEN	1:13:25
275	Karen Ehrenreich	DEN	1:13:32
276	Samira Schnüriger	SUI	1:13:45
278	Anne Lise Rousset	FRA	1:14:02
279	Silvia Rey Veiga	ESP	1:14:04
280	Leah Hanle	GER	1:14:11
281	Laura Domene	ESP	1:14:16
282	María Lázaro	ESP	1:14:54
283	Lauren Meyers	BEL	1:15:02
284	Beatriz Alvarez Diaz	ESP	1:15:06
286	Queral Criado Ocaña	ESP	1:15:40
287	Alina Sönning	SUI	1:15:47
288	Laurina Arche	FRA	1:15:51
289	Gaia Gagliardi	ITA	1:15:52
290	Laura Sandgaard	DEN	1:16:39
291	Jolien Denis	BEL	1:16:43
292	Cristina Juan	ESP	1:17:08
293	Sarah Forbes-Smith	GBR	1:17:26

Women Listed With a Best at Another Distance

Bib	Athlete	Country	Best
194	Aynadis Mebratu	ETH	30:05
209	Faith Cherono	KEN	30:06
210	Jana van Lent	BEL	30:10
211	Axumawit Embaye	ETH	30:22
229	Aude Clavier	FRA	31:46
230	Javote Gueret	FRA	32:07
295	Anna Marie Sirevag	NOR	32:35
297	Maria Varo Zubiri	ESP	33:06
299	Vilde Vage Henriksen	NOR	33:32.92
189	Marta Maza	ESP	33:41
190	Inca Padfield	GBR	33:45
191	Antia Castro Perez	ESP	33:58
192	Soukaina El Khayami	MAR	34:18
193	Stevie Lawrence-Wrist	GBR	15:43.73 (5,000m)

Women’s Pacemakers

Bib	Athlete	Country	Role
196	Moses Ntaloishi	KEN	Pacemaker
184	Timothy Kiptoo	KEN	Pacemaker
185	Luis Agustín Escriche	ESP	Personal pacemaker
186	Álvaro Calderón Tornero	ESP	Personal pacemaker
187	Francisco J. Martínez	ESP	Personal pacemaker
188	Abel Casalí Carvajal	ESP	Personal pacemaker