Marathon

The first OneWay Marathon Cát Bà sees the participation of about 3,000 elite and amateur runners. Photos courtesy of the organisers

HẢI PHÒNG — Hoàng Hữu Hanh and Thái Thị Hồng won top places at the OneWay Marathon Cát Bà – Step over Your Limit, on the beautiful island of Cát Bà over the weekend.

Hanh dominated the men's 21km race. He was followed by Hồ Chí Thiên and Nguyễn Phương Quang.

Hồng, a familiar name in the running community, won the female event. Nguyễn Phương Thùy and Hoàng Thị Hồng Uyên were her runners-up.

In the 10km categories, Trương Văn Nguyên won the men's title while national team runner Khuất Phương Anh took the limelight of the women's class.

Trần Văn Sơn and Nguyễn Thị Thanh Xuân were winners of the men's and women's 5km pools, respectively.

The first Oneway Marathon Cát Bà drew almost 3,000 athletes to run through challenging but beautiful tracks.

Marathoners enjoy the beautiful scenery and challenging routes at the OneWay Marathon Cát Bà.

They passed through different types of terrain and experienced the majestic limestone mountains and smooth white sandy coastline of Cát Bà while admiring famous places such as Cát Bà National Park, Ngọc Mountain, Trung Trang Cave, Cát Bà market and local seafood wholesale market.

The top runners enjoyed a total bonus of VNĐ500 million (US$21,200) along with an electric motorbike from sponsors VinFast for the Female winners.

"I am strongly impressed with the route of the OneWay Marathon. I ran through 10km of majestic scenery, although it was a little hilly," said Lê Thị Thanh Quỳnh, who finished second in her class. "This is one of the most beautiful routes that I have run so far."

Nguyễn Thị Vân An and her daughter from Hồng Bàng District of Hải Phòng took part in the tournament.

"I registered to run for my daughter and me. I expected that we would share our unique experiences on the island, and we did. I also hoped my girl would be inspired by the race and continue running for better fitness," said Anh.

Deputy director of the Việt Nam Sports Administration, Lê Thị Hoàng Yến, also joined in the 5km class.

She saw many people running while commenting that OneWay was a well-organised tournament. 

She suggested the marathon should be held annually to lure people into training and promote the locality's tourism potential.

Participants can run solo, in groups or with family at the OneWay Marathon Cát Bà.

"I think it was a pretty good tournament as it was organised for the first time. We wanted to get sporty and festive runners and a tourism experience in this event. I hope that runners and their families enjoy time," said Bùi Minh, Tuấn, head of the organising board.

"The great feedback will be a strong base for us to confidently organise other events in the OneWay series. Next year, the Cát Bà version will be extended to a full marathon," he said.

Tuấn added that Cát Bà was a famous destination for tourists thanks to its world biosphere reserve. The OneWay Marathon was expected to contribute to the area's sports tourism development.

The tournament is co-organised by the Doanh Nhân Trẻ (Young Businessmen) group magazine, Voice of Việt Nam and the Việt Nam Journalist Association. VNS