The 14th EDP Porto Marathon obtained new records this morning! Kenyan Monica Jepkoech beat the women's course record by 2h26m58s. In the men's race the record of the course didn’t fall, but Daniel Pinheiro, in his new club, Águias de Alvelos (Barcelos), was an extraordinary surprise, finishing in second place with a new personal record.
The day dawned sunny in the Invicta City, with pleasant temperature for the race, which lasted all day long. Only the wind was reason for complaint by some of the high-performance athletes, but this is an inescapable phenomenon on Portugal's seafront, reminding us that no matter how careful an organization is, as it is the paradigmatic case of the EDP Porto Marathon, there are aspects that the organization can’t control.
Winds aside, the sun and the green colors surrounding She Moves area, the Atlantic blue ocean and the varied tones of the participants' shirts, provided a fabulous party of color, in a unique course which started at the “Sea Life Porto” , going up around the City Park, on the way to Matosinhos, and back, crossing the traditional D. Luís I bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia, just to Afurada the return to Invicta facing the sea until the finish line.
The women's race brought a new record of the course. Carla Salomé Rocha, running again with the Sporting C. P. colors, was the holder of the best time of the athletes at the start (2h27m08s at this year's Prague Marathon), started very strong, but was exceeded by its biggest rival, Monica Jepkoech, the Kenyan that had an excellent personal record of 2h26m58s. The record for Loyce Chebet, another Kenyan woman who won last year with 2h29m13, was beaten for more than two minutes, and Jepkoech assured her fifth triumph in marathons. This way, Solidarity Record Liberty Seguros awarded the absolute record of EDP Porto Marathon obtained by Monica Jepkoech, in the amount of € 10,000, 50% reverted to the athlete and 50% reverted to the social institution Movimento ECO - Empresas contra os Fogos.
Carla Salomé Rocha ran alone for many kilometers, since she was taken off by Jepkoech, but even suffering in the final part of the race, she showed great fiber and finished in second. The podium was closed by the Ethiopian Chaltu Bedo, with 2h43m41s.
In the male side of this 14th EDP Porto Marathon the race was a one-way race in favor of the Kenyan Jackson Limo, the man who had the second fastest time, with 2h9m06s, a result obtained at the Paris Marathon in 2014. He finished well, with 2h11m34s, the third time of his career.
With a strong recovery in the final part of the race, Daniel Pinheiro came in second and sensationally pulverized his personal record for five minutes with 2:17m57s. Ethiopian Okubat Tsegay closed the podium with 2h19m06s.
The podium ceremony counted on the delivery of a solidarity check to the Association A Casa do Caminho in the value of 5.000€.
The event was being evaluated by an IAAF team in order to be able to receive the Bronze Label. The EDP Porto Marathon has the chance to belong to the official calendar of the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2018, appearing as one of the best marathons in the world. Therefore Lisbon and Porto will be the only marathons in the country with this certificate.
Three cities join this EDP Porto Marathon. Matosinhos, Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto, and are the connecting link for the thousands of participants who choose to participate in this event, full of tradition and values, just like these cities.
All together, once again, the EDP Porto Marathon, now in the 14th edition, was a memorable event, a spectacle of seeing and crying for more.
