Valencia Half Marathon 2026: Kwizera wins in 58:03 and smashes the Spanish record

Rodrigue Kwizera won the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich on Sunday 25 October in 58:03, a new Spanish record. The Playas de Castellón athlete took 1 minute and 36 seconds off the 59:39 that Carlos Mayo ran on this same course in 2023. He is also the first Spaniard to win the race since it has been run over the official distance of 21.097 kilometres.

He was not the only one to break the national record. His clubmate and training partner Thierry Ndikumwenayo finished second in 58:09, also well inside the old Spanish record. In the women’s race, Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui won in 1:03:51, the fastest time in the world this year, and Laura Luengo set a Spanish record of 1:08:28. Valencia lived up to its reputation as a course built for records once again.

How the men’s race was won

With mild temperatures and no wind, conditions were perfect for fast running from the gun. Two pacemakers set the rhythm and a group of nine quickly formed, staying together for around half an hour. They went through 10 km in 27:40 and 15 km in 41:31.

By 15 km only five were left at the front: Kwizera, Ndikumwenayo, Ethiopia’s Tadese Worku and Kenyans Owen Kapkama and Victor Kipruto. Worku dropped back around kilometre 19. With two kilometres to go, Kwizera changed gear and only Ndikumwenayo and Kipruto could follow him for a few metres. In the final half kilometre he pulled clear for good and crossed the finish line on Avenida de Tarongers alone.

The finish was far quicker than the start. The last 6.1 kilometres, from the 15 km mark, were run at close to 2:43 per kilometre. Ndikumwenayo was second, six seconds back, and Kipruto completed the podium in 58:12, nine seconds behind the winner.

Why isn’t it a European record?

Kwizera’s 58:03 is three seconds faster than the European record: the 58:06 set this year in Copenhagen by Sweden’s Andreas Almgren. Even so, it will not be ratified as a continental record.

The reason is administrative. Kwizera, who was born in Burundi, became a Spanish citizen this summer. He can compete as a Spaniard in national events, which is why his time counts as a Spanish record. However, he does not yet have his World Athletics transfer of allegiance, the step that allows him to represent Spain internationally. Without it, his time cannot count as a European record, which for now remains Almgren’s.

According to the organisers, Ndikumwenayo’s 58:09 is the second-fastest European time in history. He came to Valencia with a personal best of 59:42 and improved it by more than a minute and a half.

Kwizera, the favourite who delivered

Kwizera started with bib number 1 and the fastest personal best in the field: the 58:16 he ran in March at the Prague Half Marathon. Before the race he had said he was in very good shape, and Mayo’s record looked within reach if everything went to plan. Everything did.

His bond with Ndikumwenayo explains a lot of what happened. They are clubmates at Playas de Castellón, they prepared for the season together at altitude in Addis Ababa, and the organisers even describe them as friends and “almost brothers”. On Sunday they pushed each other until there was only room for one winner.

Chepkirui runs the world’s fastest time of the year

The women’s race was just as intense and was decided by a single second. After passing 5 km in 15:19 and 10 km in 30:29, the lead group included Daisilah Jerono, Sheila Chepkirui, Diana Wanza and Mizan Alem, among others.

Around the 30-minute mark a new pacemaker came in and raised the tempo, and only Jerono, Chepkirui and Wanza could go with it. In the final kilometre Chepkirui attacked. Wanza responded with a tremendous finish that at times looked enough to catch her, but the Kenyan held on: 1:03:51 for Chepkirui and 1:03:52 for Wanza. Jerono was third in 1:04:11.

Chepkirui’s time is the world lead for the year and, according to the organisers, the seventh-fastest in history. The depth was outstanding too: tenth place came in at 1:05:40, and the organisers describe it as the deepest women’s race ever run. The course record, Letesenbet Gidey’s 1:02:52 from 2021, still stands.

Laura Luengo sets a Spanish women’s record

The other big Spanish story was Laura Luengo. She had not raced for a while and admitted she was not specifically training for this distance: she was going to go out and see how far she could get. She got a long way. She started behind the Spanish group, led by Meritxell Soler, and moved up strongly in the second half.

She finished 20th overall in 1:08:28, inside the 1:08:30 Carla Gallardo had set in Berlin in March. Meritxell Soler and Irene Sánchez-Escribano completed the Spanish women’s podium, both in 1:08:47. Among the men, the third Spaniard was Aarón de las Heras in 1:00:08. The organisers point out that many other Spanish results from the day now rank among the best national times ever.

Valencia Half Marathon 2026 results

Top Spanish men: Rodrigue Kwizera (58:03, Spanish record), Thierry Ndikumwenayo (58:09) and Aarón de las Heras (1:00:08).
Top Spanish women: Laura Luengo (1:08:28, Spanish record), Meritxell Soler (1:08:47) and Irene Sánchez-Escribano (1:08:47).

A celebration with 26,500 runners

Behind the elite, the 35th edition brought together 26,500 registered runners, the largest field in its history. They started in seven waves five minutes apart so that the almost completely flat course stayed fast for everyone. If you ran it, our Valencia Half Marathon 2026 guide has all the race information, and you can go back over every section in our kilometre-by-kilometre route guide.

Today’s race shows once again why Valencia is one of the fastest cities in the world for road running, something we explained in our piece on the history, route and records of the Valencia Marathon. The next big date is the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich on Sunday 6 December. If you are travelling, do not leave accommodation until the last minute: the race falls on a Spanish long weekend and the same property costs almost five times more than the following weekend. We measured it in our guide to where to stay for the Valencia Marathon 2026, with areas, distances to the start and real prices. If you are running it, there is still time to fine-tune your preparation with our sub-3:30 training plan.