Valencia has spent the past few years establishing itself as the fastest marathon course in the world, and organisers have assembled an elite field for the 2026 race on 6 December that is built to justify the reputation. The headline name is Yomif Kejelcha, the Ethiopian who produced a 1:59:41 personal best on his London Marathon debut and now returns for a second attempt over the distance. Anything in the region of that time on a flat, sheltered Mediterranean course will attract attention from the very first kilometre.
Kejelcha will not have the men’s race to himself. Kenya’s John Korir, who won in Valencia last year, comes back with a 2:02:24 personal best and the stated aim of defending his title while lowering that mark. He is joined by his compatriot Alexander Mutiso (2:03:11) and a deep Ethiopian contingent including Dawit Wolde (2:03:48), Nibret Melak (2:04:00) and Leul Gebreselassie (2:04:02), the 2018 winner. Norway’s Awet Kibrab (2:04:24) completes the announced list. The depth means that a fast pace is likely to be sustained rather than collapse into a late tactical race.
The women’s field is led by Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay, whose 2:10:52 personal best makes her the fastest entrant on paper and a named favourite. Defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya (2:14:00) is back to retain her crown, while Emily Sisson, the United States record holder with 2:18:29, and Finland’s national record holder Alisa Vainio (2:20:39) add national-record ambition to the mix. Lilian Kasait (2:19:35) and Aberu Ayana (2:20:20) round out a field that spans several distinct performance tiers, and Winnie Jepkosgei is listed as a debutante.
Marc Roig, the race’s international elite athletes coordinator, has acknowledged that defending the title will be very difficult with Kejelcha and Tesfay in the field. The organisers have also said that further contenders aiming for fast times and national records will be added, and that at least one more world-class woman is due to be announced this autumn. Pacing arrangements and specific time targets have not been published, and those details will shape how realistically the leading athletes can attack their lifetime bests.
For the sport’s late-season calendar, Valencia now serves as the closing statement of the marathon year, arriving a month after New York and following a strong run of autumn results in Chicago, Frankfurt and Cologne. With a debut that came within a whisker of two hours already on Kejelcha’s record, the question for 6 December is less whether the race will be fast than how close the winner can get to the very top of the all-time list.