Joshua Cheptegei Chasing Road World Records in Valencia

By Adam Kopet

Joshua Cheptegei is attempting to break the road 10K world record at the last ever 10K Valencia Trinidad Alfonso in Valencia, Spain.

Cheptegei will be chasing the world record time of 26:44. His personal best for 10,000 meters is 26:48.36, which he ran in a winning effort at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships last month.

Race organizers have decided this will be the last 10K race as they will focus on the marathon in the future.

That marathon, Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP, is set to host several strong athletes this year that could see the course records fall.

The men will be chasing the course record of 2:04:30, set last year. The field is led by Ethiopia’s Herpasa Negasa, who ran 2:03:40 to finish second at this year's Dubai Marathon.

Guye Adola of Ethiopia has the second-fastest time in the field, having run 2:03:46 at the 2017 Berlin Marathon in the rain. That was his marathon debut. He has not run the marathon this year, but he did win the Rome Half Marathon in 1:00:17, showing the potential for good form in Valencia.

In all, 10 men in the field have run under 2:06 in their careers.

Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya headlines the women's field. She had been forced to withdraw from the Berlin Marathon in September with injury, but she is now healthy and ready to race again. She has a best of 2:18:31 from the 2018 London Marathon.

The Ethiopian duo of Roza Dereje and Birhane Dibaba should also be formidable, as each has run under 2:20 in their careers. Dereje owns a personal best of 2:19:17 from the 2018 Dubai Marathon. Most recently, she started the IAAF World Outdoor Championships marathon, but did not finish in the heat and humidity.

Dibaba owns a personal best of 2:19:51 from the 2018 Tokyo Marathon. She recently won the Copenhagen Half Marathon in 1:05:57.

The Sunday temperatures should be ideal for distance racing, however, the wind could be a concern. Gusts of 18 miles per hour are currently forecasted.