Valencia Marathon launches its athletics support programme with funding of up to one million euros
The Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich, through event organiser, Sociedad Deportiva Correcaminos, has launched its social commitment programme, “Sharing the Valencia Marathon”, which has three main focus areas: clubs, facilities, and competitions. The race has launched a number of initiatives of this kind in recent years, but it is only now, in 2026, that it has structured a more wide-ranging project that aims to be sustainable in the long term and will be provided with a budget of up to one million euros.
The aim of “Sharing the Valencia Marathon” is to provide the means and resources to strengthen athletics in Valencia. To this end, three areas of action have been created so far, which already have many different programmes in place.
Firstly, “Sharing the Valencia Marathon – Clubs”, which was first organised in 2025, aims to support grassroots sport in Valencia province by providing direct financial assistance to schools with fewer resources.
Secondly, “Sharing the Valencia Marathon – Facilities” focuses on restoring, building or renovating sports facilities in the city. This programme includes an agreement with the Polytechnic University of Valencia to renovate and open its athletics track to clubs and runners, but other initiatives are also in the pipeline and will be announced shortly. Similarly, support has been provided for the purchase of sports equipment for several athletics tracks in the Valencian Community, and a permanent walking circuit on Avenida Tarongers has been approved.
Finally, “Sharing the Valencia Marathon – Competitions” is committed to improving the conditions of local tournaments and giving greater visibility to major athletics events. An agreement has been reached with the Valencian Community Athletics Federation to help cover the costs of the regional outdoor championships for athletes aged 14-and-under and up to veterans, which are held in the summer, so that they can take place in the evening when the heat is less intense and better results can be achieved. Finally, as previously announced, the Valencia Marathon will be the main sponsor of the City of Valencia International Athletics Grand Prix, with the aim of helping it grow to become an international benchmark.
The idea behind SD Correcaminos is that the programmes will continue to grow as long as the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich does too, as the funds to cover the initiative come from the race’s budget.
Juan Manuel Botella, general director of the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich: “The better the Valencia Marathon does, the better athletics will do. Sharing is in the nature of the Sociedad Deportiva Correcaminos. Miguel Pellicer, Toni Lastra, Paco Gómez Trénor and Fernando Cort, four people of enormous importance in the history of Correcaminos, would be proud that the club they founded and developed has grown and become the organiser of a major event in the city, the Valencia Marathon. Thanks to the decisive impetus provided by the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation and Valencia City Council, Correcaminos has learned how to build a professional organisation based on a community club. And we have pushed boundaries, turning our 42K into one of the best races in the world. The fruits of this universal appeal already represent an enormous economic and business benefit for Valencia; which we are aware of this thanks to the annual economic and fiscal impact reports. But now we are going one step further, directly helping institutions, the Federation and even other clubs with up to one million euros to strengthen and promote our favourite sport, our raison d’être, athletics.
