World Lead for Cheroben and Course Record for Gudeta in Valencia

Published by IAAF on October 18, 2015

Pre-event favourite Abraham Cheroben successfully defended his title at the 25th edition of the Medio Maraton de Valencia Trinidad Alfonso, clocking 59:10 at the IAAF Silver Label Road Race on Sunday (18) to run a world-leading performance for the second year in a row.

The women’s competition was just as exciting as Ethiopia’s Netsanet Gudeta smashed the course record by 31 seconds to clock a career best of 1:07:30, moving to eighth on this year’s world list.

Thanks to the 22-year-old Kenyan’s time, Valencia has now accomplished a record of five straight years with sub-60-minute winning times.

Cheroben’s win is the 10th successive Kenyan victory in the men’s race and his compatriot Mathew Kisorio placed second, also finishing within 60 minutes.

The event has earned a deserved reputation for quick times thanks to its flat course and being only about 16 metres above sea level.