Runners take part in the 5km event (Photo: VNA) Hoa Binh (VNA) - Over 2,200 runners from 38 countries and territories joined the Vietnam Ultra Marathon (VUM) 2024, which was organised for the first time on March 23 in Mai Chau district, the northern province of Hoa Binh.
Athletes took part in running at five distances, from 5km, to 10km, 25km, 50km and 70km ultramarathon with a total increase in altitude of up to 3,300 metres.
Runners Cush Kathryn from Australia secured the first place in the women’s 70km run while John Ray Onifa from Philippines was the winner in the men’s category. Meanwhile, Vanja Cnops of Belgium and Iurii Shtankov from Russia came in first in the women’s and men’s 50km events, respectively.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh won the women’s 25km event and Randolf Gonzales from the Philippines took the first place at the men’s 25km event.
Kiera Bailey from United Kingdom and Vietnam’s Nong Van Chuyen finished first in the women’s and men’s 10km events, respectively.
Bui Thi Lan and Nguyen Ngoc Anh from Vietnam were the winners in the women’s and men’s 5km category.
According to organisers, the running track was uniquely designed, bringing participants a new feel of Mai Chau that not many people have experienced. From the romantic Mai Chau valley with villages of Thai ethnic people, the race took runners through a variety of landscapes, from dense primitive forests to terraced fields, passing many long slopes and majestic landscapes.
The event is expected to be held annually in Mai Chau district in the following years, offering Hoa Binh province an opportunity to introduce to domestic and international tourists Mai Chau's potential and advantages that need to be tapped to promote the development of the locality./.
