Marathon

Runners take part in the 11th HCM City Marathon 2024. This year's tournament will be held on January 12. Photos of Pulse Active

HCM CITY — The 2025 HCM City Marathon on January 12 will be extra special, an event which also celebrates the city's 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975-2025).

Organisers have also announced that to improve the quality of the tournament, this year only three routes would be held.

However, the runs still attracted more than 10,000 registrations to compete in the 42km, 21km and 10km categories. More than a quarter of those running will come from overseas.

Prior to the race day, all of them can enjoy many activities at the Marathon Expo area at the Hoa Lư Sport Centre with about 40 booths from sponsors, partners and sports businesses on January 10-11.

On January 12, all races will start and finish in front of the Reunification Palace in District 1's centre, an historic landmark that marks the victorious Hồ Chí Minh Campaign.

Runners will not only receive awards for high high rankings, but also finisher medals carrying the tournament message of 'The People’s Victory'.

As many as 11,000 marathoners race in the HCM City Marathon in 2024.

Held annually since 1992, the marathon has become one of the city's main sporting events to encourage people to regularly practice physical exercise and sports to improve health.

Organisers said the tournament would not only promote the running movement, but also stimulate local tourism services including stays, food services and retail, with around 30,000 visitors expected to come to the city.

According to statistics from Pulse Active, the organisers of the tournament, each year the event has a new running cohort of around a third, all new participants. It is expected that about 20,000 athletes will chose to run the HCMC marathon in the next three years.

Last year, British runner Robert Hudson and Vietnamese Phạm Thị Hồng Lệ took the title in the men's and women's 42km classes. VNS