SEA Games champion Nguyễn Trung Cường is looking to win his first race at the Vietnam International Half Marathon on January 1, 2024. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — SEA Games champions Nguyễn Trung Cường and Hoàng Nguyên Thanh set high targets in their debut at the Vietnam International Half Marathon powered by Herbalife, which will be held on the first day of 2024.

The race’s second edition has drawn local and international runners competing in the 21km, 10km and 5km categories at the new venue of Thiền Quang Lake in Hà Nội.

Cường, who won men's 3,000m steeplechase at the 32nd SEA Games, has registered in the 10km class and wants to win the top position in his first participation.

“I missed the inaugural edition because I took part in other events. This year, I will run in the 10km, which is my first official international race," said Cường, who won 21km titles in the VnExpress Marathon Hanoi Midnight, Techcombank HCM City International Marathon and VnExpress Marathon Hải Phòng, within the past month.

“I have practised really hard and competed well in all training plans. I target to run 10km in 31 minutes or less and hope to be the top one," he said.

Cường was considered a talented runner of Việt Nam after he won silver at the SEA Games 3,000m steeplechase in 2019 when he was 19.

But personal issues kept him off the running track for two years.

He marked his comeback at the end of 2022 with a gold medal and a record in the National Sports Games' 5,000m before topping the SEA Games in his favourite 3,000m steeplechase.

Cường's best time in the 10,000m is 31.25min but he usually runs 31.40min. He will be competing against defending champion Lê Anh Hào who clocked 33.32min for his title.

In the half marathon class, Việt Nam's first male SEA Games marathon winner, Thanh, will be one of the top candidates, although 21km is not his strong point.

Hoàng Nguyên Thanh crosses the finish line of the Pocari Sweat Run Việt Nam in November in HCM City. He wants a high ranking at the Hà Nội event to have smooth beginning to the year. — VNA/VNS Photo

Like Cường, Thanh also came back to running in 2019 after quitting for several years. He also made a brilliant return with a gold medal in the 31st SEA Games in Hà Nội and a bronze in the 32nd Games in Cambodia, along with wins in many other domestic events.

The 28-year-old is recovering from an ankle injury that left him unable to finish the mid-December Techcombank HCM City International Marathon. He hoped that he would run well prior to the Hà Nôi's competition.

“I pay attention to take care of the injury so that I can take part in two important races in early 2024, the Vietnam International Half Marathon being first on January 1," said Thanh who set the highest position target so that it would be a good beginning for a year full of tournaments.

In this class, he will face powerful rivals including 2023 winner Đỗ Quốc Luật and first runner-up Nguyễn Văn Lai, both former SEA Games medallists, as well as foreign runners from Chinese Taipei and Thailand.

The Vietnam International Half Marathon is the first running race licensed, supervised and operated by the Asian Athletics Association. In its first season, more than 3,000 athletes participated in running on the roads around the Hoàn Kiếm Lake area and ​the city's landmarks. — VNS