VALENCIA, SPAIN, December 01 — Sabastian Sawe’s much-anticipated move to the marathon lived up to expectations as the accomplished half-marathoner sped past frontrunning Daniel Mateiko in the 37th kilometer to win the Valencia Marathon in 2:02:05.
Sawe (aka Simaru) finished just 12 seconds off Kelvin Kiptum’s debut record run 2 years ago over the same course, but reached the marathon’s all-time list as the fifth-fastest athlete with the No. 8 all-time performance.
He brought both talent and confidence to his debut, saying afterwards, “I didn’t doubt myself because I was well trained and I was coming to test myself in the full marathon. For me, the first time competing in a race like this and winning, it is the best moment of my career.”
In the women’s race, Ethiopian Alemu Megertu broke clear of the field by 25K and managed her way through cramping hamstrings to break the tape in 2:16:49.
Though last month’s floods ravaged neighborhoods south of the city, the marathon’s route about the city was intact and once again proved super-fast by any parameter be it the 10 men finishing under 2:05, 30 sub-2:10, 117 runners under 2:20, and a bevy of national records.
Valencia’s elite athlete recruiter Marc Roig curated a field led by defending champ Sisay Lemma, who ran a course record 2:01:48 last December, followed by a runaway win in Boston in April before a knee injury scuttled his Olympic dreams.
The veteran Ethiopian contingent also included ’19 World No. 1 Kenenisa Bekele and three others with bests of 2:03:46 or faster, Deresa Geleta, Birhanu Legesse and Guye Adola. They matched up with a quartet of talented Kenyan debutants — Sawe, Daniel Mateiko (58:17 in October’s Valencia Half), Mathew Kimeli (58:43), and Hillary Kipkoech (59:22).
The trio of Kenyan pacers — Vincent Nyageo, Samwel Mailu, Eric Sang — deftly set up a fast race guiding 9 racers through a 61:17 opening half with the only casualty being Kimeli, who crashed to the pavement heading into the 10K aid station.
Lemma, Geleta and Mateiko raced most of the early kilometers right on the pacers’ heels, while Legesse and Sawe preferred the back seat.
Sawe said, “For the first portion of the race I was just to follow the splits and understand your body. For the second part I was feeling the body is now moving good.”
At 23K, Bekele, now 42, also looked good running among the leaders, then abruptly dropped back and eventually out. Six racers ran together at 30K in 1:27:21 — 2:02:51 pace.
A moment later, Lemma, the No. 2 World Ranker in ’23, grimaced and eased up, lamenting later, “The pain in the knee returned. I made every workout since the Olympics with no problem but today the pain started at 30K and I could not maintain the high pace.”
Nyageo, the lone remaining pacer, paused at 30K then shot back to the front and pressed on through 31K, leaving Mateiko at the front.
The heir apparent to Eliud Kipchoge in Patrick Sang’s NN training group, Mateiko had tried to keep up with Kiptum in his first two marathon attempts last year in London and Chicago, and failed to finish. This time he was more patient — that is until Nyageo retired, and he took off, throwing down a 2:48 for kilometer 33 that dropped Legesse, with Geleta and Sawe rallying just to stay within 30 meters.
“I made my move to drop the guys,” Mateiko recalled. “I made a gap but could not increase it.”
Closing within 20m just after 36K, Sawe launched a sharp attack from the rear, speeding past Geleta and Mateiko so quickly they could not respond and he was able to get away to a 30-meter lead, and at the end of a 2:45 K, he was gone.
Sawe explained his tactics, “Finally at 37 kilometers I said, ‘Let me try to push’ and I used that mentality to finish the race, and I won it.”
That he did, lifting his pace all the way to the line to ratchet down the projected pace from 2:02:36 to just a few ticks above 2:02.
Splitting 28:21 from 32K to 42K, Sawe crushed the final 2195m, dashing 6:13 down Valencia’s one-of-a-kind finishing ramp that runs as fast as a tuned track.
The 29-year-old Sawe, winner of 7 of his 9 elite level half-marathons in the past 3 seasons, including the ’23 World Road Champs Half, packs a big finish as evident this September when he sprinted away from WR-holder Jacob Kiplimo in Copenhagen for a 58:05 win.
One race into his marathon career, his 2:02:05 trails only Kiptum, Eliud Kipchoge, Bekele and Lemma, displacing training mate Benson Kipruto’s erstwhile No. 5 all-time mark.
Beyond Sawe, the rest of the story in Valencia involves literally thousands of PRs including that by Biya Simbassa, who crossed in 2:06:53 to move to No. 4 all-time on the U.S. ATL with the No. 7 performance.
“It was a good race,” said the beaming 31-year-old. “I came in ready to run a good time, a PR. I had good training and I trust my training. I was a bit scared after 62:48 at halfway, the second half wasn’t easy but I got it done.”
Megertu Led Women From The Gun
The women’s races in Valencia are often somewhat obscured by the sheer number of sub-2:20 men. This was the case in ’22 when Amane Beriso seemed to appear out of nowhere to pass Letesenbet Gidey to close out her 2:14:58 course record.
This was not going to be the case for Megertu who admitted up front, “According to my preparation my goal is to run the course record.”
True to her word, the 27-year-old Ethiopian was front and center from the gun and ran much of the opening half faster than course record pace.
Megertu had run her way onto the Olympic team with a 4th-place 2:16:24 in London, but then DNFed in Paris. With a ready opportunity to make amends in Spain, she got off to a quick start covering the opening 10K in 32:01 (2:15:07 pace), accompanied by Ugandan Stella Chesang, Ethiopian Tiruye Mesfin and Kenyan Evaline Chirchir.
After halfway in 67:15, Chesang was the last to fall behind Megertu, who held on to 2:14:29 pace through 27K before her stride slowed. Before long, her hopes for the course record were dashed further. “Between 30 and 40K I felt my hamstrings,” she said. “That is why my pace fell down from the beginning pace.”
The Ethiopian veteran of 18 marathons did well to hang onto her lead and post her third career win. Chesang finished 2nd in a Ugandan Record 2:18:26 with Mesfin third to cross in 2:18:35.
Megertu admitted, “I am disappointed that I don’t reach the course record time, besides that everything was good.”
Finishing 10th, 41-year-old Sara Hall lowered her U.S. Masters best to 2:23:45. Her fourth marathon of the year put a good finish on what had been a challenging campaign after finishing 5th in the Olympic Trials, 15th in Boston, and 18th in Chicago (2:39:12).
“I started the year running some of the best workouts I’ve ever run going into the Trials, and then In Boston I didn’t feel like myself,” she said.
“After the really tough ones like Chicago, especially when you’re 41 and you think that maybe this is age, I kept thinking that you are going to come out of this. So today, it was great to feel strong and have fun, and a great way to end the year.”
VALENCIA MEN’S RESULTS
1. Sabastian Sawe (Ken) 2:02:05 (5, 8 W) (WL)
(14:32, 14:32 [29:04], 14:36 [43:40], 14:27 [58:07], 14:39 [1:12:46], 14:36 [1:27:22], 14:24 [1:41:46], 14:06 [1:55:52], 6:13) (1:01:18/1:00:47) (€75,000);
2. Deresa Geleta (Eth) 2:02:38 (7, x W);
3. Daniel Mateiko (Ken) 2:04:24 (debut); 4. Alphonce Felix (Tan) 2:04:38 PR; 5. Tadesse Abraham (Swi) 2:04:40 NR; 6. Chimdesa Debele (Eth) 2:04:44 (debut); 7. Maru Teferi (Isr) 2:04:44 NR; 8. Hillary Kipkoech (Ken) 2:04:45 (debut); 9. Samuel Fitwi Sibhatu (Ger) 2:04:56 NR; 10. Sisay Lemma (Eth) 2:04:59; 11. Berhanu Legesse (Eth) 2:05:21; 12. Edward Cheserek (Ken) 2:05:24 (4, 7 A); 13. Yohanes Chiappinelli (Ita) 2:05:24 NR; 14. Richard Ringer (Ger) 2:05:46 PR; 15. Iliass Aouani (Ita) 2:06:06 PR; 16. Andrew Buchanan (Aus) 2:06:22 NR;
17. Biya Simbassa (US) 2:06:53 (4, 7 A); 18. Félicien Muhitira (Rwa) 2:06:54 NR; 19. Peiyou Feng (Chn) 2:07:06 PR; 20. Abderrazak Charik (Fra) 2:07:20 PR; 21. Zerei Mezngi (Nor) 2:07:25; 22. Ibrahim Chakir (Spa) 2:07:32 PR; 23. Pietro Riva (Ita) 2:07:37 PR; 24. Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse (Fra) 2:07:52 PR; 25. Adam Lipschitz (SA) 2:08:54 PR;… 78. Brendan Martin (US) 2:15:59;… 115. Matt Lenehan (US) 2:18:50; 116. Corey Purcella (US) 2:18:52 PR.
VALENCIA WOMEN’S RESULTS
1. Alemu Megertu (Eth) 2:16:49 (1:07:15/1:09:34) (€75,000); 2. Stella Chesang (Uga) 2:18:26 NR; 3. Tiruye Mesfin (Eth) 2:18:35 PR; 4. Evaline Chirchir (Ken) 2:20:33 PR; 5. Majida Maayouf (Spa) 2:21:43; 6. Chaltu Chimdesa (Eth) 2:21:54 PR; 7. Laura Luengo (Spa) 2:22:31 PR; 8. Isobel Batt-Doyle (Aus) 2:22:59 PR; 9. Moira Stewartová (CzR) 2:23:44 NR;
10. Sara Hall (US) 2:23:45 (US Masters Record—old 2:26:06 Hall ’24); 11. Fionnuala McCormack (Ire) 2:23:46 PR; 12. Fatima Ouhaddou (Spa) 2:24:05 PR; 13. Susana Santos (Por) 2:24:46 PR; 14. Soukaina Atanane (Mor) 2:24:57 PR; 15. Nora Szabó (Hun) 2:25:52 NR; 16. Hiwot Gebrekidan (Eth) 2:25:55; 17. Malindi Elmore (Can) 2:26:05; 18. Molly Grabill (US) 2:26:46 PR; 19. Clémence Calvin (Fra) 2:27:36; 20. Gerda Steyn (SA) 2:28:14; 21. Alice Wright (GB) 2:28:48 PR; 22. Sara Nestola (Ita) 2:29:12 PR; 23. Sofia Camacho (Mex) 2:29:15 PR; 24. Roberta Groner (US) 2:29:32; 25. Salome Brun (Fra) 2:30:33 PR.
