Marathon 

Ezekiel Kipruto Kemboi storms to the finish of the VnExpress Marathon Hanoi Midnight 2025 Powered by Puma on November 30. Photos courtesy of VnExpress Marathon

HÀ NỘI — Kenyan runner Ezekiel Kipruto Kemboi dominated the VnExpress Marathon Hanoi Midnight 2025 Powered by Puma on November 30.

All eyes were on Vietnamese rising star Huỳnh Anh Khôi, who surged to the front at the start of the men's 42 km race. However, the 22-year-old was soon caught by Kemboi, Takele Kure, and Trịnh Minh Tâm just a few minutes later.

Kemboi and Kure broke away from the entire pack, setting up a one-on-one showdown for two-thirds of the race.

Kemsoi pulled away from his compatriot at the 33km mark, extending the gap to two minutes before crossing the finish line in 2:24.20.

Kure finished second in 2:26:31, followed by Tâm, who set a personal record of 2:27.00 — an impressive achievement after less than a year of running full marathons.

Khôi could only finish in fourth place with a time of 2:29:59, nearly six minutes slower than his personal best last week in the Hạ Long Heritage Marathon. 

Phạm Thị Hồng Lệ crossed the finish line first in the women's 42km.

In the women’s category, former SEA Games 10,000m champion Phạm Thị Hồng Lệ topped the podium with a time of 2:56:06. She faced no challenge, running comfortably on her own from start to finish.

Vũ Khánh Linh came second  44 second later and Nguyễn Thị Trà Giang was third on 3:00.13.

In the 21km categories, Kenyan Samuel Kalalei easily took the top position leading the race from the beginning to the finish with a time of 1:08.55.

Kalalei left Hà Nội immediately after his victory and could not attend the awards ceremony, but he said he would definitely run even faster the next time he competes in Việt Nam.

Vietnamese Hoàng Viết Vỹ Ly and Nguyễn Hoàng Thịnh were second and third, respectively.

Doãn Thị Oanh and Hoàng Thị Ngọc Anh were first and second in the women's class and both set new PB of 1:19.13 and 1:20.30, making them two of Việt Nam's fastest half marathon runners.

The organisers also presented prizes to Yeunsik Ham and Nguyễn Thị Hồng Hạnh, winners of men's and women's 10km categories, respectively.

South Korean Ham, 46, said he came to Việt Nam with his wife to travel and signed up to run to test his strength but did not expect to win.

The 5km titles went to Nguyễn Văn Khang of the HCM City athletics team and Phan Thị Huyền of the Yên Phong Runners Club, who impressively ran barefoot.

Marathoners at the start of the event.

The 2025 marathon featured about 10,000 athletes running around city's landmarks and historical relics.

According to the organisers, the cool weather and flat, beautiful roads helped hundreds of runners set their personal records.

The next event in the VnExpress Marathon series will be held in Hải Phòng on December 21. VNS