To kick off December, some of the world’s fastest runners, among many thousands more, took to the streets of southern Spain for the 2024 Valencia Marathon. Throughout the years, Valencia has become renowned for hosting some of the fastest half and full marathons in the world. And this year, the speedy streets of Valencia were felt throughout the entire race, even beyond the elite runners.
The 2024 edition of this notoriously fast race witnessed an unprecedented number of runners clocking sub-3 hour times, an elusive barrier for many amateur marathon runners.
Running 2:59:59 would have placed you 5,200th among the race’s 28,000 participants. Running that same time in Boston this year would have landed you in 2,660th place. Despite the impressive number of sub-three performances, fewer runners dipped under 2:30 than in 2023—512 compared to last year’s 560.
Out of the 28,000 finishers, women made up just 21 percent of the field, with 6,100 participants. The men’s 18–35 age group dominated the sub-three ranks, contributing 1,056 runners. The average finishing time across all participants was 3:39:12, with men averaging 3:33:30 and women finishing in 4:00:00.
In the elite races, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe made a historic marathon debut, clocking 2:02:05 to become the fifth-fastest man in history. Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu claimed the women’s title in 2:16:49. Notably, American Sara Hall took advantage of the ideal course and conditions in Valencia.
In her fourth marathon of 2024, Hall, 41, finished 10th at the Valencia Marathon with a time of 2:23:45, breaking her own U.S. masters record of 2:26:06, which she set earlier this year at the Olympic Marathon Trials.
Hall, known for her keeping a busy racing schedule, added Valencia to her calendar just eight weeks after an 18th-place finish at the Chicago Marathon, where she clocked 2:30:12. Earlier in the year, she also completed the Boston Marathon, finishing 15th in 2:27:58.
