Ben Connor and Lily Partridge, in the 21K, and Alondra Yairet Negrón, in the 10K, set new course records in Benidorm. Harry Johnson won the men’s 10K
Puerto Rican athlete Negrón also broke the national women’s record for the distance
The 2025 Benidorm Half enjoyed a day of celebration with a trio of record-breaking performances across three of its four categories. New all-time course records were set in the men’s and women’s Half Marathon, as well as in the women’s 10K. The event was already shaping up to be historic, having registered a record-breaking 9,132 participants—a milestone highly praised by the organiser, Tour-Sport Promociones Deportivas.
The honours board for the 2025 Benidorm Half, decided this Saturday across the 21K and 10K distances, featured the following winners: Ben Connor claimed victory in the 21K with a time of 1:03:51, setting a new course record, while Lily Partridge took the women’s title in 1:12:07, also a record. In the 10K race, Harry Johnson stopped the clock at 30:38, while Alondra Yairet Negrón Teixidor won the women’s race in 33:13, breaking both the event’s women’s record and the Puerto Rican national record for the distance.
In the Half Marathon, Britain’s Ben Connor sealed the men’s title with 1:03:51, breaking the previous record held by Luis Agustín Escriche (1:07:23 in 2024). Alejandro González (Serrano Atletismo) finished second in 1:04:21, while Latvian athlete Dmitrijs Serjogins (C.A. La Sansi) placed third in 1:05:11.
In the women’s 21K, the previous record belonged to Laura Méndez (Olympian in the Tokyo 2020 Marathon), who ran 1:16:35 in 2024. That mark was comfortably surpassed in 2025 by Lily Partridge, whose 1:12:07 represented a significant improvement. Geles Gimeno secured second place with 1:19:45, while María José de Toro (Atletismo C.P. La Roda) completed the podium in 1:20:47.
In the 10K, Harry Johnson (Salford Harriers) won the men’s race in 30:38; last year he had also raced in Benidorm, finishing second with 30:34. In 2025, Javier Mirón (Team New Balance) claimed the second step of the podium with 31:11, while Pablo Otero (Atletismo Narón) placed third in 31:18.
In the women’s category, victory went to Alondra Yairet Negrón Teixidor (Joma-Sport), who ran 33:13, breaking both the Puerto Rican national record and the Benidorm event record (previously 34:00 by María Fuentes in 2024). The defending champion, María Fuentes Olcina, crossed the line second in 33:55, improving her own performance from the previous edition. Mónica Pascual (CA Benidorm) finished third with 34:48.
“I didn’t expect to break this record here. I came to run the best race possible before heading to a training camp in Kenya to prepare to break the national record in Valencia. I’m thrilled to have managed it here as well as to win the race. I’m shocked. I’ll be back next year,” said the 10K champion.
The course is officially certified for both distances, and the event features on the national calendar of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA). Both the 21K (21,097 metres) and the 10K (10,000 metres) start on Avenida Comunidad Valenciana (corner with Calle Bélgica) and finish at Plaza de SS.MM. los Reyes de España nº 1, Benidorm (Town Hall).
The Benidorm Half is organised by Tour-Sport Promociones Deportivas and in 2025 is supported by the Benidorm City Council and Visit Benidorm. Private sponsors include Meliá Benidorm, Olympikus, Sprinter, Coca-Cola, and Sala Marina. More information is available at the event’s official website.
21K Results: chiplevante.com/es/prueba/2025BENIDORMHALF-673-2025
10K Results: chiplevante.com/es/prueba/2025BENIDORMHALF-673-2025
Growth of the Benidorm Half
The 2025 Benidorm Half was already presented as a record-breaking edition in terms of registered runners: from 6,500 in 2024, which was already its best historical figure, to 9,132 this year. Another standout milestone, difficult to match in the national scene: 44.4% of participants came from a single foreign country— the United Kingdom. Organised by Tour-Sport Promociones Deportivas, the race is now the event with the highest number of entries in the province of Alicante. Out of the total number of runners (9,132), 4,616 (50.5%) were international participants. Remarkably, 4,043 runners were British.
The event’s growth goes even further, with internationalisation rising year after year. The 2025 Benidorm Half brought together participants from 37 countries. Spain, with 4,516 runners (49.5%), and the United Kingdom, with 4,043, were the most represented. Other notable nationalities included: Ireland (108), Norway (74), Belgium (72), the Netherlands (72), Poland (42), Italy (38), Germany (23), France (22), and Sweden (18).
Among Spanish participants, a closer look shows that of the 4,516 registered, 1,934 were from the province of Alicante (42% of Spanish runners), while the remaining 2,582 came from 46 provinces. The top five were: Alicante, Valencia (704), Madrid (463), Albacete (424), and Murcia (184).
The details behind the numbers
The data becomes even more significant when considering the event’s impact as a generator of tourism and economic activity. Of the 9,132 participants, 7,198 travelled to Benidorm from other parts of Spain or from abroad, ensuring a substantial tourism-related return for the city. According to the economic impact study conducted by the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences of the University of Valencia for the 2024 edition, the average number of companions per runner was 2.6. Applying this to the 7,198 runners who travelled from outside Alicante in 2025, they were joined by 18,714.8 companions, adding up to a total of 25,912.8 visitors.
In terms of distance distribution, 49.2% ran the Half Marathon and 50.8% the 10K. By gender, participation was 58.7% men and 41.3% women. In the 10K, the split was almost even: 50.3% men and 49.7% women. In the 21K, the proportions were 67.8% men and 32.2% women.
