Nguyễn Tiến Hùng celebrates winning the men’s 100km category of the Việt Nam Mountain Marathon. — Photo courtesy of VMM

Marathon

SA PA — Vietnamese runner Nguyễn Tiến Hùng won the men’s 100km category of the Việt Nam Mountain Marathon (VMM) in Sa Pa Town, Lào Cai Province over the weekend.

Hùng completed the race in an impressive time of 12:54.04. The second place went to Sange Sherpa from Nepal, who finished with a time of 13:04.31. In third place was Nguyễn Sĩ Hiếu, also of Việt Nam, with a time of 14:29.46.

In the women's category, the winner was Man Yee Cheung from China’s Hong Kong with a time of 16:48.26. Man was followed by Vietnamese runners Lê Thị Hằng with a time of 17:09.35, and Lương Thị Lợi with a time of 18:04.08.

The 100km distance started on Friday at 9pm in Sapa Town. Runners raced through the night, starting with the ascent of Hàm Rồng Mountain.

The course then took runners deep into the hills, passing Sử Pán, Lao Chải and Cát Cát, before they reached the summit of the race's highest point, Cow Mountain, at almost 2,300m above sea level. From there, they faced a series of challenging climbs and descents all the way to the finish line at Topas Ecolodge.

In the men’s 70km category, the winner was Arnie Macaneras from the Philippines with a time of 08:40.48. The second place was Michal Lesniak from Poland with a time of 10:11.48, just 13 minutes before the third winner, Nguyễn Đức Tuấn Anh of Việt Nam.

In the women’s category, the title belonged to Akane Nemoto from Japan with a time of 13:17.42. Second place was Lê Xuân Sương of Việt Nam after finishing with a time of 13:28.15.

John Ray Onifa from the Philippines won the men's 50km category with a time of 05:06.27. Second and third place went to Kristian Joergensen from Denmark with a time of 05:09.38 and Godwin Mirar from the Philippines with a time of 05:17.38.

The top three female 50km runners were Vanja Cnops from Belgium with a time of 6:41.14, Vietnamese Trần Hồ Nguyên Thảo with a time of 8:57.43, and Giang Thị Linh also of Việt Nam with a time of 9:00.21.

Meanwhile, the male winner of the 21km was Finn Lydon from England after finishing in a time of 2:13.22, followed by Vinson Ramos from the Philippines with a time of 2:21.06, and Filip Janczak from Poland with a time of 2:27.06.

Runners start to compete in the VMM. — Photo courtesy of VMM

On the women’s side, Lydon’s girlfriend, Ellen Crombie from England, took the first place with a time of 2:31.47. The second place went to Concetta Arcella from Australia with a time of 2:47.12, while Vietnamese Nguyễn Trà Giang won the third place with a time of 2:59.17.

The 10km route started at Sa Pa Town with the participation of nearly 900 runners. The male went to John Ray Onifa, from the Philippines with just 58 minutes 27 seconds. In the female category, Vietnamese Bùi Thị Duyên won with a time of 1:09.48.

The commitment of organiser, Topas Travel, to charitable work continued at this year’s VMM 2023, with the total now raised through the Topas Vietnam Trail Series reaching over VNĐ10billion (US$420,000).

Runners at this year's VMM. — Photo courtesy of VMM

Alongside local projects along the race route, charities that benefit from the race include Operation Smile, Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, and Newborns Vietnam.

The VMM began in 2013 as the first ultra race in the country. It offers runners the chance to run 10km, 21km, 50km, 70km and 100km in the mountains surrounding Sa Pa Town.

This year's event attracted more than 4,000 runners from 51 nations and also marked the 10th anniversary of the event. VNS