HÀ NỘI — Trần Duy Quang won the men’s 70km race of the Việt Nam Trail Marathon (VTM), which concluded in Mộc Châu District, Sơn La Province over the weekend.

Quang, from the central coastal city of Đà Nẵng, finished the ultra marathon in a time of 7:59.44. He beat Nguyễn Minh Tuấn, his compatriot from Đà Nẵng into second place with a time of 8:55.20, while Singaporean-Vietnamese Nguyễn Trung came third with a time of 9:03.31.

Favourite Cao Ngọc Hà, who won the inaugural Việt Nam Jungle Marathon in 2017, finished fourth with a time of 9:15.03.

The race began in darkness at 4am, so Quang and the other 70km runners raced with headlamps on, then ran through blossom orchards at sunrise. The route took them along stunning trails, past remote villages and finished at the tea plantation Đồi Chè Trái Tim.

Paticipants compete in the Việt Nam Trail Marathon in Mộc Châu, Sơn La. — Photo courtesy of VTM

“I am very glad to run the VTM course in beautiful Mộc Châu. The weather is very cool and awesome to run. I ran for Newborns Việt Nam which provides and trains doctors to improve the lives of Vietnamese infants. I am happy and proud to contribute to this meaningful organisation,” said Quang.

The female ultra marathon saw Jo Meek from the UK take first place in a time of 9:37:20. Second place went to Louison Viard from France with a time of 9:53.02, while Vietnamese runner Nguyễn Thị Đường was third after clocking a time of 11:34.23.

In the 42km event, Vanja Cnops of Belgium beat Nathalie Cochet of France and Chinyere Perpetua Mbachu of the US to triumph in the women’s side with a time of 5:30.49.

A runner enjoys the beautiful site of the Việt Nam Trail Marathon in Mộc Châu, Sơn La. — Photo courtesy of VTM

On the men’s side, Tiger Spearman of the UK won with a time of 4:26.01, followed by Moritz auf der Heide of Germany and Vietnamese Trịnh Hải Nam.

Lò Thị Thanh from Mộc Châu triumphed in the women’s 21km category and her teammate Nông Văn Chuyển won the men’s event.

The VTM is the third race in the Việt Nam Trail Series by Topas, organisers of the Việt Nam Mountain Marathon, one of the biggest ultra-running events in Asia.

“After months of planning and preparation it was fantastic to see runners from all over the world enjoying the spectacular beauty of Mộc Châu,” said David Lloyd, race founder and director.

The event attracted the participation of 1,900 runners from 39 nations, including Miss Việt Nam 1994 Nguyễn Thu Thủy and musician Huy Tuấn. — VNS