10k Valencia Ibercaja

10K Valencia Ibercaja

Overview

The 10K Valencia Ibercaja (currently titled 10K Valencia Ibercaja by Kiprun, and previously known as the 10K Divina Pastora Valencia) is an annual 10-kilometre road race held every January in Valencia, Spain. Founded in 2009 and organised under the Valencia Ciudad del Running umbrella (SD Correcaminos, the Fundación Trinidad Alfonso and Valencia City Council), it is a World Athletics Label Road Race and a member of AIMS. It is widely regarded as the fastest 10K on the planet: the 2026 edition (the 18th) drew 14,134 finishers on the 10K alone and saw two continental records and nineteen national records fall.

The course

The certified loop is famous for being fast and flat. It starts and finishes on the Paseo de la Alameda, beside the Calatrava Puente de la Exposición ("la Peineta") over the old Turia riverbed, with roughly the first and last ~700 m run along the same stretch of road in opposite directions. The route threads Valencia's wide, straight avenues with minimal turning, which is precisely why it produces world-class times. Both the men's and women's 10K world records have been set here: Rhonex Kipruto (KEN) 26:24 in 2020 and Agnes Ngetich (KEN) 28:46 in 2024, the first woman under 29 minutes for 10 km on the road.

Getting there & spectating

The race is run entirely on closed urban roads in central-eastern Valencia, easily reached on foot or by metro/bus from the city centre. The start/finish area on the Paseo de la Alameda, next to the Turia gardens and within walking distance of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, offers excellent spectating: the out-and-back opening and closing stretches mean fans can watch runners pass twice near the line.

History & records

From modest beginnings in 2009, the event grew from a domestic race dominated by Spanish and Moroccan club runners (Hassane Ahouchar, Isabel Checa, Marta Esteban) into an elite international showcase. The arrival of African and European stars transformed it: Tsehay Gemechu and Sheila Chepkirui posted standout women's times, Kipruto's 2020 world record put it on the map, and from the mid-2020s it became a record factory: Ngetich's 2024 women's world record, Jacob Kiplimo's 26:48 the same day, and Andreas Almgren's back-to-back wins including a 26:45 European record in 2026, with Eilish McColgan setting a 30:08 European record in the women's race that year. The January 2021 edition was held virtually due to COVID-19, with the in-person race rescheduled to October 2021.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10K_Valencia
• https://worldathletics.org/news/report/valencia-10k-2020-kipruto-chepkirui-world-rec
• https://worldathletics.org/news/report/agnes-ngetich-world-10km-record-2846-valencia
• https://worldathletics.org/news/report/almgren-jepchirchir-valencia-10k-2026
• https://10kvalencia.com/
• https://www.valenciaciudaddelrunning.com/chelimo-acaricia-record-mundo-kbrom-gana-10k-valencia-2021/