Nguyễn Văn Long waving the national flag on his way to the finish line of the men's 100km at the Phuket 100K Ultra Marathon 2024 on March 2 in Thailand. Photo of VOC

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam representatives Nguyễn Văn Long and Lại Thị Xuân Hương successfully triumphed in the Phuket 100K Ultra Marathon 2024 on March 2 in Thailand.

Under the hot sun, Long finished the men's 100km category in a time of 7hr 34.21min with an average pace of 4:32.

This was a new personal best beating his previous time of 7:48:44 that he set in his win at the Beyond Limits - Việt Nam Ultra Run on December 17.

Krittapas Pimukdech (7:51.18) and Tanapol Wongsuannoi (8:16.07), both of Thailand, took second and third place.

"The running track is at the altitude of 152m and the weather is hot. However, the organising activities were great, helping runners to do well during the competition," Long said.

"Thai supporters also cheered very enthusiastically, motivating me a lot. This is the first time I have finished first in a tournament abroad and broke my own record, it is the joy doubled." 

Long was called a 'mutant' in the Việt Nam's marathon community. In 2022, Long was the first Vietnamese running across the country from Trà Cổ Beach in tỉnh Quảng Ninh to Cà Mau Province on 2.656km in 34 days, running about 80km per day.

Long will kick off his second run through Việt Nam on April 11 starting from Hà Nội's Hoàn Kiếm Lake to HCM City. The 20-day run is to celebrate his 20 years of marathon and raise funds for poor children in his home town of Gia Lai Province.

Lại Thị Xuân Hương crosses the finish line to win the women's 100km class.

In the women's race, Hương met no difficulties to finish first with a time of 8:49.01, also her new record. He old one was 9:44.50.

Hương's outstanding performance helped her secure the fifth position in the overall ranking, leaving behind many male competitors.

Waerohanee Waeyusoh of Thailand came second with 9:18.26 while Vietnamese Nguyễn Lệ Trân was third at 10:10.48.

"It's great to see the Vietnamese flag flying at the highest position when traveling to Thailand. I am proud to be a Vietnamese woman running here. I do my best and break personal and season records," Hương said.

Hương added that running in the 100km category was her breakthrough. She only set a target of running under 10 hours in Thailand but the result was beyond her expectation.

Phuket 100K Ultra is one of events of the Thailand Ultra Master Series which features many world elite runner every year. VNS