Moral Edsel from the Philippines reacts after crossing the finish line at the Đà Nẵng International Marathon 2026. He won the men's full marathon, 42km on the beach track in the central city with the participation of nearly 9,000 runners. Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng International Marathon Race

ĐÀ NẴNG – Moral Edsel from the Philippines and Vietnamese Vũ Khánh Linh took out the men’s and women’s full marathon, 42km division, in the Đà Nẵng International Marathon 2026, one of the best beach marathon tracks in Asia.

The Philippines marathoner clocked the time in two hours 30 minutes and 43 seconds to complete his beach track, beating Japanese Tezuka Tomoki, who finished second in 2hr36min18sec, and his country-fellowman, Melliza Cronie, in third place with a time of 2hr38min52sec.

In the women’s division, Vietnamese runner Vũ Khánh Linh topped the race in 3hr1min20sec, ahead of Japanese Yukiko Nomoto, in second rank with a time in 3hr3min, and Russian Simakova Aleksandra, in third with 3hr7min73sec.

Vietnamese athlete Triệu Thị Bình finished first in the women’s half marathon, 21km, in 1hr22min56sec, while Japanese Yamasaki Takemura grabbed the men’s section in 1hr12min10sec.

Vietnamese runners Nguyễn Chí Kiên and Lý Mùi Sâu finished first in the men’s and women’s 5km Fun-Run, respectively.

Vietnamese marathoner Vũ Khánh Linh finishes first in the women's full marathon division of the Đà Nẵng International Marathon 2026. Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng International Marathon Race

The race’s organisers also presented a donation of VNĐ525 million (US$20,000) collected from runners to support disadvantaged children at the Hope Village; Hoa Mai Orphanage and the centre for Đà Nẵng City’s Association for Victims of Agent Orange.

It said nearly 9,000 runners including 3,200 international athletes joined the annual race.

The Đà Nẵng International Marathon, which has been held annually since 2013, was also the first Vietnamese marathon certified by the International Amateur Athletics Association (IAAF) and the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. VNS