Valencian Marathon is the favorite international race for Italians

Year after year the Valencian city and its marathon grows internationally. With over 25% of its runners coming from outside of Spain, the Valencian Marathon stands out from all the other long distance races in November. Its flat course and clear temperate weather makes Valencia a very attractive option for international runners. The race attracts a lot of international runners, last year there were runners from 57 different countries. In the last edition of the marathon there was one country that brought more runners than anyone else; The Italians.

Valencia and Italy’s love affair is a long one. Since 2011 over 3000 runners have crossed the alps to come to La Ciudad del Running to enjoy and participate in the event. Last year 1153 Italian runners took part in the Valencian Marathon, a number we   expect to see increase in 2015.

The arrival of Italians to Valencia in November has no competition. According to a recent survey in the Italian magazine Correre, Valencia Marathon is the most popular European race for Italians. Even more established marathons such as Paris or Berlin don’t get the number of Italian runners that Valencia does. There is only one other International race that gets more Italian runners than Valencia; The New York Marathon, with a total of 1900 Italian runners.

For the 2015 edition of the Valencia Marathon it looks like we are already on track to have a large number of Italians representing their country. As of today’s date 7.5% of the registered runners are Italian. This percentage reaffirms our historic ties and is a good indicator that we will continue to increase this number every year. The Italian runners bring their passion and flair to the event, and our Valencian locals cheer them on with every stride they take through the streets of Valencia.

These numbers are also reflected in our 10K event that runs alongside the full marathon. In October we also have the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon that has established itself as the premier event for Spanish and Italian runners in October. As our number of Italian runners grows, so does our overall number of European runners. Belgians, Brits and Dutch have all come to Valencia to beat their PBs and have a great time in one of the Mediterranean’s best cities for a short break.