The 18. Valencia 10K is crowned with three new records on a historic day

• The winner of the race, Sweden’s Andreas Almgren, retained the European record with a time of 26:45.
• English athlete Eilish McColgan sets the European record by crossing the finish line in 30:08.
• Said Mechaal breaks the Spanish record with a time of 27:25.
• More than 15,600 runners crossed the finish line in the 10K and 5K races, making this edition the most popular to date.

January 11, 2026. Another historic start to the running year in Valencia. The Valencia Ibercaja 10K by Kiprun has once again enjoyed a day to remember, setting a triple record on January 11. In its 18th edition, the world’s fastest 10K has broken the European men’s and women’s records and the Spanish men’s record.

Thus, the Valencia 10K, which holds the men’s and women’s world records, has revalidated the men’s European and Spanish records and achieved one of its pending goals: the women’s European record. In total, five of the six major records, with the exception of the women’s Spanish record, are now held by the Valencia 10K.

The winner of the race, Swedish athlete Andreas Almgren, broke the European record by crossing the finish line in 26:45, smashing his own record set in last year’s edition (26:53). In the women’s race, British athlete Eilish McColgan set a new European record with an amazing time of 30:08.

And at the national level, the Spanish men’s 10K record was broken again in Valencia by athlete Said Mechaal with a time of 27:25, surpassing the record set by Ilias Fifa in the 2025 Valencia 10K (27:41).

As for the overall podium, in the men’s race, Andreas Almgren was the first to cross the finish line, followed by Ethiopia’s Khairi Bejiga (26:51) and Kenya’s Victor Kipruto (27:17). The overall winners were Kenyan Brenda Jepchirchir (29:25), Ethiopian Likina Amebaw (29:29), and fellow Kenyan Clare Chemtai Ndwia (29:49).

Valencia, built to fly

After her feat, Eilish McColgan, who was running in the city for the first time, said: „I’m very happy, it was my first time in Valencia and I can only say amazing things about the race. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever run a race where I wasn’t alone for more than two meters. There were people cheering from start to finish, and that really helped me in the last two kilometers when I was tired.“

European record holder Andreas Almgren said: „I’m very happy and very tired. It was really tough to stay in the lead, it felt like it took forever, but I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved. I love racing in Valencia. The track is very good, the conditions were perfect and there was a big crowd. The organizers took great care of me, I’m delighted to race here.“

For his part, Said Mechaal said : „I am proud of the work I have done over the last four weeks, but also over the last two, three and four years, which has paid off today. I am very happy, especially for the people who believed in me, for being able to give them this little gift and for them to enjoy this Spanish record. The truth is that the circuit is spectacular, super fast, the first three kilometers are super fast, the circuit is incredible, it’s for flying. I’m very happy.“

The largest edition of the 10K

All these records were set during the 18th edition of the 10K Valencia Ibercaja by Kiprun, in which 14,125 amateur runners crossed the finish line after enjoying the streets of Valencia, City of Running, and flying around the fastest circuit in the world.

Thousands of runners, who set off to the beat of Chimo Bayo’s „Hu-Ha!“ from the Paseo de la Alameda, kicked off the running year in style, making this the most popular edition of the 10K to date.

5K Valencia Ibercaja

The sporting events on Sunday, January 11, kicked off at 8:15 a.m. with the Valencia Ibercaja 5K, the preliminary race to the main event, which celebrated its fourth edition this year and brought together 1,395 runners, making it the largest race to date.

The overall winners of this race were Clement Paillon and Sophie Moroney, who crossed the finish line in 14:44 and 17:43, respectively

Source: 10K VALENCIA IBERCAJA by Kiprun 2026