Valencia Half Marathon race review: one of the best half marathons in Europe?

I took part in the Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Half Marathon for the first time this year (2023). Here’s my honest race review and what you need to know if this event is on your race bucket list!

About Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Half Marathon

The Valencia Half Marathon is one of the most popular half marathons in Spain.

It takes place every year in October and is part of the Super Half Series along with some other prestigious European half marathons such as Lisbon and Copenhagen.

Size wise, it’s a huge event that attracted over 20,000 runners in 2023.

The half marathon course

The race starts at 8:25am near Torre del Miramar on Avenida dels Tarongers. The course is fast and flat on smooth tarmac, with very little elevation and only a handful of turns.

You finish on the same avenue as you started but close to the Universidad Politecnica.

You can check the course and all the details on Strava here.

Can you get a PB at the Valencia Half Marathon

Absolutely! This is one of the flattest half marathons in Europe, the chances of good weather are high, it attracts a lot of fast runners which creates a very strong field and all of this combined means that if you’re likely to set a new half marathon PB.

Not to mention that it’s a huge event, therefore you’re likely to be running in a pack for very long, which is always helpful.

I personally got a 2min51 PB in Valencia and ran my first ever sub 90 minute half marathon!

How much does the entry cost?

The earlier you enter, the cheaper it is. For the 2023 edition the cheapest price entry fee was 38€ (35€ for the race and 3€ extra if you’re not affiliated).

Entries for both the marathon and half marathon open in December after the Valencia marathon.

How to pick up your race number?

You’ll get your race number at the expo, which is open on the Friday and Saturday before the race, from 9am to 9pm. The expo is located on C. d'Alfarrasí, 80, 46035 València.

Alongside your race number, you’ll also receive your T-shirt (when registering you can choose between a tank top and short sleeve top) and your goodie bag.

In 2023, the goodie bag contained some snacks (nuts and protein bar), a hand sanitising gel, a vaseline sample and some fancy prebiotics chewing gums.

What do you get at the finish?

Your medal of course, with some water and an array of other things. The post finish line area is quite long and you’re given a tote bag, which will be filled up as you walk up the street.

I got a protein shake, a bottle of Aquarius, a pouch of fruit puree and some persimmons.

You could also pick up a banana and even broccoli (strange, I know! I wish it had been cake).

My honest review of Valencia Half Marathon

You can watch some footage of the expo and the race in this vlog:

Overall, the race was really well organised with great email communication leading up to it, a smooth expo experience and great value for money.

I really enjoyed the early start (8:25am for the elites and 8:35am for my wave), especially as the temperatures were going to rise later in the morning.

The course lands itself very well for a PB, you can barely feel any elevation and you don’t have to negotiate many turns.

It’s not incredibly scenic but it’s really well spectated at all parts of the course, not just the start and finish. The support from spectators was incredible, I never gave so many high fives in a race before!

There was also a lot of entertainment, with music, dancers and all sorts of performers every few hundred metres.

To sum it up, I had an incredible race experience and crossed the finish line with a shiny new PB.

Any downsides?

The slight downside of the event for me was the post-finish line area, which was incredibly lengthy (I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up being nearly 1km long) and the last thing you want when you finish is having to walk for what feels like forever (there were gates on either sides so you had no choice).

I was dying for water, but had to walk quite a way to get some, then walk more for the medal, then carry on walking to pick up the post-race goodies, one at a time.

Also I was a little disappointed by the lack of race photos. I’m only in the background of 3 photos which are not worth buying. On the bright side, this saves me some money as I won’t get the photo pack!

If you find these race reviews helpful, a coffee would be very much appreciated :) And if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch via the contact form.