Runners are ready for the Standard Chartered Hà Nội Marathon Heritage Race 2024. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

HÀ NỘI — More than 18,000 athletes from 55 countries are ready to compete at the Standard Chartered Hà Nội Marathon Heritage Race 2024 on November 3.

“Creating an event for over 18,000 athletes from within and outside the country to come together is a major challenge. We have met with many authorities and spent months researching and testing to come up with the most optimal track, combining many heritage sites while still ensuring safety and the city’s smooth traffic flow outside of the marathon,” Nguyễn Trí, CEO of the marathon’s owner Đức Hương Anh Company (DHA Việt Nam), said.

“With the assistance of Standard Chartered bank, DHA Việt Nam was able to take invaluable experience and organisational procedures of the prestigious Standard Chartered Marathon events and apply them to Việt Nam, ensuring we get the best possible outcome.”

This year’s event will recruit an impressive number of volunteers, the majority of whom are Standard Chartered Việt Nam’s employees, while many others are university students around Hà Nội.

The event’s track is designed following global standards for all major marathons. All four distance events (5km, 10km, 21km and 42km) are standardised and certified by the Association of International Marathon and Distance Races.

Runners may use their results at this marathon to register for the World Marathon Majors Age Group Championships - a global organisation with six of the most prestigious marathons worldwide (Six Majors), including the New York Marathon, Chicago Marathon, London Marathon, Boston Marathon, Tokyo Marathon, and Berlin Marathon.

From Thiền Quang Lake, runners will make their way through Hà Nội’s fable Old Quarter consisting of 36 historical streets, then through several roads surrounding the scenic West Lake. From there the track takes runners into the more modern and vibrant side of Hà Nội like the districts of Hai Bà Trưng, Hoàn Kiếm and Ba Đình.

The full marathon track will go through four major lakes: Sword Lake, West Lake, Trúc Bạch Lake and Thiền Quang Lake - as well as historic landmarks like the HCM Mausoleum, Ba Đình Square, Hà Nội Flag Tower. A city full of nostalgia, charm, glory and energy will be wrapped up in this Heritage Race.

Over 18,000 athletes from 55 countries will take part in the Standard Chartered Hà Nội Marathon Heritage Race 2024. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

The Standard Chartered Hà Nội Marathon Heritage Race 2024 is the first marathon in Việt Nam to receive assistance from the best-rated treatment standard Bạch Mai Hospital, with over 1,000 medical professionals at the event.

“We are proud to be the official sponsor of the heritage event. This is the 10th event in the world-famous Standard Chartered Marathon series and pivotal in a series of events commemorating the bank’s 120-year presence in Việt Nam," Trịnh Như Quỳnh, head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing of Standard Chartered Việt Nam," said.

"Becoming the official sponsor for a reputable marathon is a testament to our strong investment in Việt Nam. We want to be a part of Việt Nam for the long run and build this marathon up to be a community event, uniting all social classes together and fostering a healthy lifestyle.”

Becoming a part of the famous Standard Chartered Marathon World Series is a solid foundation for the organisers to realise their dream of bringing Việt Nam’s marathon to the world map. Turning Việt Nam into a favourite destination for athletes worldwide is one key factor to developing Việt Nam’s tourism sustainably.

In the spirit of “Running Together, Going Further”, many meaningful community-oriented activities will be held during this season.

The “CEO Run” will be first implemented exclusively for CEOs of local and foreign businesses to take part in. Any CEO taking part will pledge money to charity. The organisers will transfer all proceeds from this event to the locales and civilians affected by the recent tropical storm Yagi.

Road map of 42km category. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

At this marathon, an innovation from Standard Chartered Việt Nam’s staff is hatched and implemented on the spot. The idea was to collect used shoes and donate them to underprivileged civilians in remote regions across the country. People donating will receive a VNĐ200,000 discount voucher when buying new shoes from Xtep who is also the exclusive apparel sponsor for all distances at this year’s event.

The “Foliate Việt Nam’s Forests” challenge on social media is another activity worth mentioning. For every runner that takes part in the running minigame, the organisers will donate a tree.

This programme collected 3,000 cedars planted at the BiDoup Núi Bà National Park in Lâm Đồng Province. — VNS