Phạm Tiến Sản crosses the finish line of the Longbien Marathon 2024 on October 27 in Hà Nội. He set a new record time for the run. Photo courtesy of Longbien Marathon

HÀ NỘI — Phạm Tiến Sản not only defended his title but also set a new record at the Longbien Marathon 2024 on October 27 in Hà Nội.

Sản, the SEA Games duathlon reigning champion, faced little competition to finish first across the 42km distance in a time of 2hr 36.59min - a new record in the course's eight year history. Last year he also took the top spot on the podium in a time of 2:37.10.

Sản beat nearest rivals Lê Tấn Hi into second place with a gap of nearly five minutes (2:41.40) and Hồ Quang Bình in third (2:47.25).

"I have not had my best fitness for this tournament, after running at the Berlin marathon and three other events this month," Sản told Việt Nam News. "Luckily, I didn't meet any strong runners, while the cool weather also supported me a lot, so I could run comfortably and make up suitable time schedule for the whole 42km.

"I was a little tired in the second half of the race, but supporters and volunteers strongly encouraged me. Thanks to them, I tried harder to make the finish."

Sản thanked the organisers who also awarded him the Course Breaker Award of VNĐ50 million (US$2,000) thanks to his winning time. Runners had been encouraged to run their best times in a race campaign of #Level-up. 

He said marathon running is part of his training programme for his major of duathlon and he hoped that it would help him defend his SEA Games title next year in Thailand.

Lê Minh Tuân seen running solo on the way to the finish in the women's 42km class.

In the women's competition, Lê Minh Tuân, who is in the top ten of fastest marathoner runners in Việt Nam, finished in first place in a time of 3:07.59.

It was her second full marathon win within one month after also running a half marathon victory last week.

Đồng Thị Mộng Thơ came second (3:13.12), followed by Nguyễn Thảo Nguyên (3:15.32).

In the 21km categories, Trần Tư Pháp took the men's gold (1:16.46) while Huỳnh Thị Nhất Bình topped the women's race (1:36.42).

The organisers also presented awards to winners of the men's and women's 10km, 5km and age groups. 

The eighth edition of the Longbien Marathon lures about 15,000 runners nationwide to compete in four categories from 5km to 42km.

 The Longbien Marathon 2024 featured about 15,000 athletes attempting to run their personal best and celebrate the capital city's 70th anniversary of liberation.

With all four distances measured and tested by international experts of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, runners can use their results from the Longbien Marathon to apply for the Abbott World Marathon Majors. VNS