On September 20, in Sa Pa ward, the Vietnam Mountain Marathon (VMM) 2026 officially closed after days of exciting competition on the roads of the Northwest mountains.
This year's race gathers nearly 5,500 athletes from 54 countries and territories, competing in 6 distances including 10 km, 21 km, 50 km, 70 km, 100 km and 160 km.
In long distances, each step to the finish line is the result of many hours of effort and endurance.
In the 10 km distance, Vietnamese athletes dominated in both men's and women's events.
In the women's event, Lo Thi Yen finished first with a time of 1 hour 14 minutes 45 seconds. Phu Me So won second place, while Jemima Wilson (United Kingdom) finished third.
In the men's event, Sung A La finished first after 1 hour 7 minutes 29 seconds. The next two positions belonged to Giang A Khai and Nguyen Thanh Trung.
In the 21 km distance, the women's championship belonged to Cristina Arreiol (Portugal) with a time of 2 hours 45 minutes 4 seconds. Two Vietnamese athletes, Tran Duyen and Nguyen Thi Mai, finished second and third respectively.
In the men's event, Sung A Phu brought home another championship for Vietnam when finishing after 2 hours. Tony Scotton (France) finished second, while Ly A Bang won third place.
The 50 km distance witnessed fierce competition from international athletes.
In the women's event, Ram Maya Budha (Nepal) won the championship with a time of 6 hours 24 minutes 37 seconds; Yuri Yoshizumi (Japan) ranked second and Rebecca Bunting (United Kingdom) ranked third.
In the men's event, Ruqin Wang (China) finished first after 4 hours 59 minutes 27 seconds. Billy Curtis (Australia) won second place, while Sung A Su was the Vietnamese athlete in third place.
In the 70 km distance, Vietnamese athletes won the championship in both men's and women's categories.
Phuong Thi Hong Nhung finished first in the women's event with a time of 11 hours 36 minutes 26 seconds, ranked above Luu Hong Van and Halimatun Saadiah Mat Nor (Malaysia).
In the men's event, Vang A Tung finished first after 8 hours 55 minutes 16 seconds. Ly A Song finished second with a time of 8 hours 55 minutes 22 seconds, only 6 seconds behind the winner. Randolf Gonzales (Philippines) finished third.
The 100 km distance continued to mark the mark of Vietnamese athletes when Ha Thi Hau won the women's championship with a time of 12 hours 54 minutes 43 seconds.
Maryline Nakache (France) finished second with a time of 14 hours 29 minutes 54 seconds, while Ying Li (China) finished third with 14 hours 53 minutes 49 seconds.
In the men's event, Roka Magar Man Kumar (Nepal) won the highest position after 11 hours 42 minutes 37 seconds. Aleksei Beresnev (Russia) ranked second, while Ngo Van Chinh of Vietnam finished third with a time of 13 hours 28 minutes 5 seconds.
The 160 km distance - the longest race track of the tournament - is the most challenging challenge for athletes.
In the women's event, Man Yee Cheung (Hong Kong, China) won the championship with a time of 29 hours 40 minutes 42 seconds. Giang Thi Linh of Vietnam finished second, only 1 minute 32 seconds slower than the winner. Nguyen Thi Tra Giang finished third.
In the men's event, Junghyun Lim (Korea) finished first after 24 hours 53 minutes 27 seconds. Nguyen Sy Hieu of Vietnam won second place with a time of 26 hours 51 minutes 49 seconds, while Dina Nath Bagale (Hong Kong, China) finished third.
Not only creating competitive races, VMM 2026 also contributes to bringing the image of Sa Pa closer to the international off-road running community.
