The Valencia Marathon is one of the most popular running events in the world thanks to a flat course, fantastic scenery and being set in one of the most enjoyable places to spend a few days away in the winter months.
Tom liked it so much when he did it back in 2018 that he decided to return with the hopes of getting a sub-3 wearing the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris
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01:32 – The Valencia Marathon 2024
09:24 – Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris
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Hey Tommy from the R festers I am in Valencia this weekend so back to do Valencia Marathon I've done it before But last time I did it I was Significantly slower than I have been Over my last few marathons so uh I'm Going to give it another go um I'm not Sure I'm going to be taking my phone With me so that's why I'm recording this Now in the dark uh I'm going to be aing For a sub three but I'm not confident About it um and I'm going to be wearing The A6 uh met speed Sky Paris which I've Only used up to 10K distance so little Bit the gamble today really looking Forward to it weather's meant to be Amazing and yeah I'll be back in a bit He Okay it's 4 days after the Valencia Marathon and I am back in the UK now I Had planned to record a video after the Race but uh I was out there with a few Friends and we got a little bit excited And decided to go to the bars instead And I've been on holiday for a few days As well so I haven't actually got round To um doing a video and editing it um But Valen marathon is fantastic marathon It's one of the few marathons that I've Actually done twice um me and Nick Actually did it a few years back before We started the Run testers um and we're Really big fans of that race it's very Quickly becoming one of the most popular
Um big marathons um especially in Europe And for good reason it's really well Organized the course is fantastic the Start and end point is really really Impressive the uh route is really nice As well you've got loads to look at it's Really wide roads for the most part part From maybe the first 2 or 3K which can Get a little bit congested um but once You get out there it really widens out There's loads of water every 5K on the Course there's quite a lot of gels on The course as well they have normal gels And caffeine gels I can't remember what The brand is it's um it's not a brand That I've used before I did have a Couple of those gels on course and they Were absolutely fine organization Everything fantastic it's one of the Best marathons I've ever done and I was Really looking forward to going back and Doing it again probably the most Impressive part of Valencia marathon is The Finish Line uh that goes through the Science area Science and Arts um area in Valencia which is this really modern Builtup artistic looking um series of Buildings but the finish line goes Across this uh little uh water uh Feature which is like a little man-made Lake uh in the middle of the uh the Center and it looks really impressive It's all blue it's all it looks Fantastic um whenever you see images of
Valencia Marathon you're likely to see That finish point and I put it down as One of if not the favorite um Finish Line that I've ever done in the marathon And I've done about 30 something Marathons now can't quite remember the Exact number uh other things to say About the race um obviously this year Valencia has had a lot of problems over The past few months we weren't entirely Sure if it was going to go ahead um but It did thankfully and it was really well Done um and really nice to to get out There and do the race again uh the Expo Uh that has changed this year so when um We originally did the race back in I Think 2019 the um Was uh in the same position as the uh Start and finish area but it's moved now To quite far out of the city so it's About 8 km out of the center which is Quite difficult to get to uh especially At the moment because a lot of the Transport is down especially the tubes Um so the um it's quite a quite a tough Uh trip out to the Expo it's an all Right Expo it's not not one of the best Expos I've ever been to but um it has It's it's got everything you'd expect From a major marath Marathon Expo um and It's well worth a visit there's lots of Bits and pieces going on very similar to What you get from things like London Marathon it's not as big as London
Marathon Expo but there is quite a lot You can do get t-shirts printed and Things like that um other things to say About the marathon is that it's uh Valencia is a fantastic City to do a Marathon in because when um it's nice to Walk down at the start it's still Relatively warm I walk down in t-shirt Um and uh afterwards you're in the Middle of Valencia and there's loads of Bars and everything it's really nice Vibe uh in Valencia um if you're doing The marathon so it's well worth doing The other thing I'd say about Valencia Is it's becoming increasingly more Popular um which means that over time It's getting more and more likely that It's going to get harder to get in so if You're planning on doing a big um big Marathon worth getting into Valencia Early because it's not a ballot at the Moment you can actually um it does it in Waves so you get cheaper tickets the Earlier you get it but over time as it Gets more and more um popular it's very Likely that it's probably going to Become a ballot like many of the other Big big marathons I also wouldn't be Surprised if at some point it became a Major now there are more Majors Appearing um because it's really is one Of the best races out there that you can Do now the course itself as I've Mentioned it's pretty flat it's a really
Really fast course um and the only thing That really affects Runners out on that Course is the heat if it gets a little Bit hot later on once you get into the 22s 23s 24s you can start to feel that Especially if you're out for a longer Period of time there is a cut off in the Race which I think is about 5 and 1 half Hours so nobody's out there for like 8 Hours or 9 hours in the Sun but still if You're one of those Runners that's Running around that pace you're going to Have a lot more sun U than some of the Faster Runners so take that in mind uh If you're planning on doing it but if You're okay with the heat um it's a Great place to to go and race and uh It's a great time of year to do it start Of December um people winding down for Christmas people looking forward to a Couple of weeks off over Christmas it's A nice little thing to start off the um The period of uh the Christmas period With uh and also it means that um you're Training over the Autumn as well which Isn't too bad it depends what where you Live where you live but uh this year in Um in England it's been bit of a mixed Bag so there's been a lot of rain so It's not been a great training period uh Over the Autumn this year but we can get Lucky and it's it can be quite a nice um Time to train and you're not have to Deal with too much cold weather my race
Uh wasn't that successful so I ran uh 314 something uh I did want to get a sub Three I have trained for this race but I've not trained as hard as I did for um Chicago and Berlin Chicago and Berlin I Got 2 hours 55 in Chicago and 2 hours 53 In Berlin felt great on those races my Pacing was really good for both of those Not not as good in Berlin my Chicago was Perfect uh for this Valencia I did want To get sub three but I wasn't really Sure I'd be able to get sub three um I Haven't done as much uh andoy endurance Training long long runs at marathon pace As I had done previously and that really Showed in the race first half of the Race I hit one hour 29 and at that point I realized I would struggle to maintain That pace for the rest the rest of the Uh the marathon there's nowhere to get Got a one 12 n after that so mentally I Wasn't really ready for it also my car Started playing up at around 23k um and yeah I just struggled after That so I ended up with 314 which I'm Happy with I wasn't going for a PB or Anything like that I just wanted to Hopefully get under sub three but I was A bit of a way off from that um so yeah More more training needs to be done I Don't think I'm going to massively go All out for Manchester marathon in April I don't particularly like training over The winter so I think I might take that
As a bit of a an enjoyable marathon and Maybe focus more on a marathon in 2026 And maybe use 2025 for half marathon um Distance and faster efforts over 10K but All in all Valencia fantastic Marathon Fantastic course really well organized If you're looking at doing a marathon And you want something that's really big And exciting like the marathon Majors Valencia is a great option for that um It can be quite expensive uh to F over There if you're going over the immediate Dates um of the marathon so if you're Going out on like the Friday and coming Back on the Monday can get very Expensive so I spent I went for a bit Longer and I actually went over to Alante afterwards so that I could get um Different flights back and it's not too Bad if you if you plan it out like that Hotel are quite expensive over the Weekend as well you can get lucky with a Few but you really need to book far Ahead to um get some good deals on those All in all though fantastic event Nick Unfortunately couldn't do it he's a bit Injured but I did see him on the course And he shout at me um but he has done it Before so um right let's dive in and see What uh kit I Used okay so the shoe that I decided to Use was the aex metas speed Sky Paris Now this shoe I have used a few times uh I've raced in it but only up to 10K
Distance uh so I wasn't really sure if This would work for me over the Marathon Distance normally I would go for Something like the alphafly 1 socer Indorfin Pro 3 which is what I have um My two fastest times in in the marathon Uh but for now I didn't want to use my Older shoes one because I don't want to Keep using my alphafly ones cuz I want To save them for a time when I'm really Feel feeling fit and I'm I'm going for a Full-on PB um but also I wanted to try Out one of the new shoes that I've got So the to up was between the Met speed Sky Paris and the CEO X1 um I think I Made the wrong choice to be honest um I Really like the Met speed Sky Paris and The reason that I went for it is because Everybody voted for it in the awards That we had a couple of weeks ago um and I wanted to see I I voted for it as a Great as a great shoe for running fast In but my knowledge of it is for shorter Distances I've done intervals and longer Sessions at faster Pace but I've only Raced up to 10K in this shoe so um I Wanted see what it was like and it if it Worked for me as well as it has the Other guys both Nick and kieren have got PBS uh in this shoe um and it is a great Shoe it's really fast really picks up The pace nicely nice smooth Motion in it Um for me it just feels like it's Lacking a little bit of midsole that I
Like I I I I like a little bit more Softness in the midsole midsole I like It a bit of a wider base on it I like to Really feel the Squish and the bounce in There I think the metas speed Sky Paris Has that um it's just a bit less it's More of a a fast shoe for really uh Flicking you forward with that carbon Plate um and the mid Sole for me it's it It's not as soft as I'd like from um a Marathan shoe what the pace that I run Which is about 4 minute 10 kilometers Over Marathon distance uh what I'm Looking for is to settle into that pace Really comfortably uh and just have nice Fresh legs and just be able to maintain Their pace for a long period that's why The sorin Pro 3 worked well for me it's Very subtle shoe that doesn't really Bound you forward really push you push You on really quickly um but it just Feels very comfortable and just to Maintain a nice Pace A6 met speed Sky Paris loved it for 10K cuz I'm going all Out on those at 3 minute50 um Pace but For the marathon I think it just didn't Have the um softness that I needed um Towards the uh towards the second half Especially and that's partly to do with My fitness at the moment but also I did Feel in in the latter half I did feel Like I didn't quite get as much softness And enjoyment from that mid as I would Have got from something like the Ally
One or the uh S dfin Pro 3 but really Like this shoe and I'm going to use it More over the next year for shorter Distance races because I think that's How it works well for me um but won't be Using it for a marathon and I I I think I should have used the COO X1 because That's just feels a little bit more like The alpha flly to me a little bit more To that mid and a little bit more of a a Smoother transition as opposed to a Faster transition which is what I'm Getting from the uh the aex speed Sky Paris but great shoe just not quite one That I enjoyed using as much as I Thought it would based on all of the Other run testers and their experiences In those shoes another thing worth Mentioning is that I also wore uh monkey Socks to Racin fantastic socks those I'm A bit late uh with the Monkey Talks I Know some of the other guys have tested Them earlier in the year did mention Them in the Christmas guide video Fantastic socks really really Comfortable throughout that race really Breathable um had no issues at all they Felt great inside the Met speed Sky Paris um and yeah definitely suggesting To anybody who's looking for some really Good quality running socks and that Comes loads of nice colorways and stuff As well so well worth looking at those Uh if you want some fancy socks so
That's it from me on Valencia Marathon 2024 not as successful as maybe I'd want It to be but had a great time love that Marathon and well worth doing if you if You're looking for a really big big Scale nice Marathon that pretty much has Everything that you'd want from Marathon If you want to listen to our podcast you Can go to the link in the caption below And we will see you soon with another Video thanks lot for watching catch you Next time
