2020 Valencia Marathon - December 6 - Being Billed as Deepest Field Ever

[imnothammer]

Lets Run is billing this marathon as the "deepest field ever" and with 9 runners under 2:05 and another 14 under 2:06 it is tough to disagree.

This will be run at 2:30AM EST... going to be tough to watch this one live. Maybe my cat will wake me up in time for the last 10k? It will be streaming on the race website for anyone feeling braver than I am. https://www.valenciaciudaddelrunning.com/en/

 

[Andrew A.]

Thanks for the heads-up! I may look for results or an archived stream later in the day. I didn't get up at a weird hour to watch Doha WC or Dubai, either. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think I'll opt to watch Fukuoka live (noon Japan time Sunday start is 10 p.m. EST Saturday, 8 p.m. my time), instead. Should still be interesting racing with about ten sub-2:10 guys (and 30+ sub-2:13) entered even if the depth might not be the very best. I always enjoy seeing the cityscapes on these race broadcast streams, maybe I can recognize some Fukuoka landmarks. Incidentally, I'll be pulling for Jo Fukuda as he's the only elite runner I follow on Strava.

 

[Andrew A.]

I just remembered, I saw somewhere that Emily Sisson is taking aim at the AR in the half-marathon in Valencia so something else to watch for.

 

[imnothammer]

I just remembered, I saw somewhere that Emily Sisson is taking aim at the AR in the half-marathon in Valencia so something else to watch for.

Amongst other notable performances over the weekend, Sisson ended up one second off of the AR. While immediately disappointing, that sort of performance has to be a confidence booster in the long run.

The men's half WR is... just insane. Especially given that second place was only a few second back on his heels.

Even with all of those incredible performances, the main talking point seems to be Adidas muscling its way into the podium (and, I don't believe, any Alphaflys represented from the Nikes which did find their way there).

 

[Andrew A.]

Here's a marathon race replay I found:

And the World athletics report on the marathon races.

Plus a report on the half-marathon races from World Athletics. And video of the full men's race:

Speaking of World Athletics, they have once again changed their rules around shoe technology tolerances. Incidentally, it does appear that adidas has nudged ahead of Nike in this racing shoe arms race.

I did get to watch Fukuoka, though I was feeling bleary for the final 15K. Great run by a young athlete, Yuya Yoshida, to win in 2:07:05. At just 23 years old he's a first-year pro who debuted in February at Beppu-Oita Mainichi in 2:08:30. Full report gives great context for his background and potential (full race video embedded within, Yoshida raced in the black GMO uniform with white cap). I saw Fukuda a few times as well as the inimitable Yuki Kawauchi, though both finished well back from the winner.

 

[imnothammer]

I always love races which finish on a track but I had a mini-heart attack at around the 2:05:40 mark when it looks like the pace car almost bumps Yoshida in the confusion of going from road to track...

 

[Andrew A.]

Gotta keep the Subaru Levorg on screen!
The on-track start is pretty cool, too.