THE Valencia Marathon celebrates its 40th birthday this Sunday(December 5) after the pandemic forced the 2020 event to be restricted to elite runners only.

First staged in 1981, Spain’s leading road race attracts a high class field in what are regarded as perfect marathon conditions.

Temperatures average between 12 and 17 degrees and the course is almost entirely flat, meaning that it clocks up some of the fastest marathon times in the world.

2020 winner, Kenya’s Evans Chebet, won in last year’s third fastest time after the London and Berlin marathons.

The race starts and finishes at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences.

It takes the runners around some of the area’s most iconic sights including the historic city centre, the Jardin del Turia and part of the coast.

18,000 people have entered the races in both male and female categories as well as for half-marathon distances.

There are also sections for physically-impaired runners and wheelchair competitors.

Racing begins at 8.30 am.

All public EMT buses in Valencia will be free of charge on Sunday until 4.00 pm.

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