Borura targeting faster times as she takes on stellar field in Valencia

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Cross country bronze medalist Esther Borura will be in Valencia where she takes on a strong field as she looks to run under 31 minutes.

Borura is part of a star-studded field that has Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw who will try to break her own world 10km record at the 10K Valencia Ibercaja, a World Athletics Label road race set for Sunday 15 January. 

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Borura goes to the race with a 31:02 personal best in the distance but is eyeing a sub-31 as she looks forward to a busy season. 

"I ran my current PB in Valencia and I would like to improve on it there. If I can run faster then it will give me morale for the season ahead as I look to do better on track and road.

My biggest target is to represent the country at the World Championships later in the year and this will be a good build up," Borura offered. 

Yehualaw returns to the Spanish coastal city that has witnessed multiple world records over the past few years as she looks to set another world record. 

She improved the previous women’s world 10km record to 29:14 in Castellon last February.

That time has only been bettered by two athletes for 10,000m on the track: her compatriot Letesenbet Gidey, who holds the world record with 29:01:03, and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who clocked 29:06.82.

In addition to Yehualaw, there will be another five women who have gone under the 31:00 barrier. 

That list includes the Kenyan trio of Vicoty Chepngeno, Jesca Chelangat and Naomi Chepngeno, plus the Ugandan duo of Sarah Chelangat and Stella Chesang.

The 29-year-old Vicoty finished runner-up last year in Castellon thanks to a lifetime best of 30:14, while Chelangat improved her PB to 30:23 in Prague in September to take second place there and Naomi boasts a 30:34 career best set in Laredo in 2021.

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The 21-year-old Sarah managed a 30:31 clocking in Brasov last September, while Chesang holds a 30:40 PB set in Cape Town in May before she finished just outside the medals at the Commonwealth Games over 10,000m.

The European challenge will be headed by Germany’s European cross country bronze medallist Alina Reh, a 31:21 performer, together with Sweden’s Sarah Lahti, who ran a national record of 31:18 in Ibiza last year, and the British pair of 31:12 runner Samantha Harrison and 2016 European 5000m bronze medallist Steph Twell, who ran 31:55 in 2019 and more recently clocked 32:14 in Houilles last month.

Additional information by World Athletics.