Running through VN’s rolling hills

June 03, 2017 - 08:00

The first-ever Việt Nam Jungle Marathon (VJM) was held in the Pù Luông Nature Reserve in the central province of Thanh Hóa (on May 26-28). The tournament attracted more than 300 runners from 32 nations competed with routes of 25km, 42km and 70km.

Trail pals: A 25km and a 42km runner together on the trail.
Viet Nam News

HÀ NỘI — The first-ever Việt Nam Jungle Marathon was held in Pù Luông Nature Reserve in the central province of Thanh Hóa on May 26-28. The tournament attracted more than 300 runners from 32 nations competing on routes of 25km, 42km and 70km.

Pù Luông is home to jungle, limestone peaks, rice paddy fields and small villages, allowing runners to enjoy beautiful sites while running.

Many of these remote villages are still connected by dirt trails with plenty of challenging climbing in between.

Runners shared the route with buffaloes and people from minority communities, although in some more remote sections athletes were not likely to see anybody on race day except other runners.

Many of the villages see little or no tourism, meaning the race was an opportunity to discover untouched Việt Nam. — VNS

Around the bend: A 70km runner turns a corner on the Pù Luông route.
The long and winding road: The 25km race shortly after its start, with 24km to go.
Agrarian occasion: A runner skirts rice paddy fields.
City slicker: A Hanoian runner races through a small village with a big smile.
Stronger together: Race Director David Lloyd starts the 42km race.
Green mile: A runner on the way to checkpoint eight - the final checkpoint. — Photos Sam Wilson/Việt Nam Jungle Marathon

 

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