Hallmarks at VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang 

Running along the beautiful routes and finishing the challenging races of VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang is always memorable experience for the runners. VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang 2024 (season 3) bore the hallmark of Khanh Hoa Province’s development of running movement and contributed to the promotion of Nha Trang City’s tourism brand.

Winning thanks to familiar natural conditions

VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang 2024 witnessed an impressive sprint of Trieu Tien Luyen, the 22-year-old runner from Binh Thuan Province. Trieu Tien Luyen is a familiar name among professional runners in Vietnam. He is the athlete Binh Thuan Provincial athletics team and has participated and achieved many medals in haft marathon (21,1km) of Tien Phong marathon, Ba Ra mountain climbing competition (Binh Phuoc Province), national athletics championship, Stop and Run marathon Binh Thuan, VnExpress Marathon, etc.

Runner Trieu Tien Luyen  (Source: VnExpress)

VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang 2024 was the second time this year Luyen has competed in full marathon (42,195km) and also witnessed his first championship at this race. As said by Luyen, the cool climate of the coastal city as well as the pass of which steepness is quite similar to the one in his hometown Binh Thuan where he practices every day. For the first 20km, Luyen ran slowly with the group of strong runners namely Anh Khoi, Thuan Long, Hoang Hon, Kimutai Kipchumba. At Luong Son Pass, while the other runners couldn’t maintain their strength running up the steep slope, Luyen accelerated his speed and took the lead at km 32, crossing the finish line after 2 hours 39 minutes 27 seconds, 3 - 4 minutes faster than the others. “All the runners in this tournament are very strong. My first VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang championship will be a great source of motivation for me to conquer tournaments in the future,” said Luyen.

Overcoming weakness

The women’s event of VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang 2024 witnessed the victory of runner Pham Thi Hong Le. This was Hong Le’s 9th victory in VnExpress Marathon women’s 42km. Hong Le is the former member of Vietnam national athletics team and has taken part in many marathon tournaments across the country. Mountain running has always been a challenge for her in marathons. Therefore, in her first time taking part in the race in Nha Trang City, Luong Son Pass with the length of over 10km long and slope of over 70m high really challenged Hong Le. Indeed, during the 42km route in Nha Trang, Hong Le appeared tired at some times with a formidable opponent, Nha Trang's runner Thuy Van, right on her heels. Finally, with great effort and high determination, Hong Le completed the race at the first position. 

Pham Thi Hong Le (middle) running at VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang 2024 (Source: VnExpress)

Impressive VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang 2024

The highlight that impressed thousands of athletes at VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang is the challenging race on Luong Son Pass and the beautiful sunrise on the sea. In the past, before VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang, running movement in Nha Trang City in particular and Khanh Hoa in general was only at small scale, city level or provincial level. In 2022, VnExpress Marvelous Nha Trang officially launched, attracting more than 8,500 runners from all over Vietnam and other countries. The 2023 edition saw a record number of runners increasing to more than 11,000. In its third season, the race had more than 9,000 runners, including more than 400 foreign runners from 55 countries and territories. VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang has strongly sparked the running movement in Khanh Hoa. The province now has tens of large and small clubs with around more than 10 thousand runners.

Beautiful scenery at the start line (Source: VnExpress)

The runners running on Tran Phu Bridge (Source: VnExpress)

As said by Nguyen Tuan Thanh, deputy director of Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Culture and Sports, with its large scale and professional organization, VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang has strongly promoted the development of the running movement and helped increase the number of regular runners in the province. According to the sports sector’s statistics, up to now, the number of people in Khanh Hoa practicing sports regularly has reached 38.9%. In addition, the annual organization of VnExpress Marathon Nha Trang with the participation of many international runners and their families not only helps promote Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa’s tourism to tourists but also helps the province’s tourism economy grow.

An Nhien
Translated by H.N