The Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, a non-profit organisation that promotes Valencia and the wider region, has been named as title sponsor of the Spanish city’s staging of next year’s International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Half Marathon Championships.
The event, which takes place on March 24, will officially be known as the IAAF/Trinidad Alfonso World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018.
The foundation has sponsored the Valencia Marathon and Half Marathon for the past five years. The two events are the first Spanish races to obtain IAAF Gold Label status.
Foundation director Elena Tejedor said: “For us this event meets several of our foundational goals. On one hand, running and especially these long-distance races exemplify, like few others, the culture of a strong work ethic linked to sport that we promote. On the other hand, we love that the name of Valencia is crossing borders, that it is becoming a reference for sport tourism. The world championship is the culmination of the 'Valencia, City of Running' project that we have been promoting for three years.
“We are convinced it will be a success. We have the organisational experience of SD Correcaminos, who also leads the Valencia Marathon and Half Marathon, and the City Council, which has made a significant contribution to attracting this event.”
The most recent edition of the World Half Marathon Championships was staged in Cardiff, Wales in 2016. Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor and Peres Jepchirchir won the men’s and women’s races, respectively.