The running track of the 2026 National Marathon Championship of Tien Phong Newspaper was bustling from early morning on March 29 in Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa). More than 12,000 athletes competed in the men's and women's events including 5km, 10km, 21km and 42km.
The marathon – 42km men's, professional marathon – 42km women's events of the tournament are included in the achievement program of the X-2026 National Sports Games. Therefore, experts have focused their attention on the competitions here.
In the marathon – 42km men's professional race, the competition took place excitingly between Hoang Nguyen Thanh, Nguyen Van Lai, Le Van Tuan, Pham Ngoc Phan... The event had 14 professional athletes participating.
With the advantage and best expertise, Hoang Nguyen Thanh finished first with a result of 2 hours 22 minutes 19 seconds. The achievement helped Hoang Nguyen Thanh win the 7th professional marathon – 42km championship at the tournament. More importantly, Nguyen Thanh won a gold medal at the X-2026 National Sports Games for himself.
The second and third place in this event were respectively Pham Ngoc Phan (2 hours 24 minutes 17 seconds) and Nguyen Van Lai (2 hours 25 minutes 30 seconds).
In the women's marathon – 42km event, athlete Pham Thi Hong Le excellently finished first with a result of 2 hours 42 minutes 06 seconds. She surpassed Hoang Thi Ngoc Hoa – the 2025 champion of the tournament – to win a gold medal at the X-2026 National Sports Games.
Last year, Hong Le competed in the women's semi-marathon – 21km event, but this year she returned to the professional women's marathon – 42km event.
Finishing second was Hoang Thi Ngoc Hoa (2 hours 44 minutes 13 seconds) and third place was Pham Huynh Yen Nhu. Notably, athlete Le Thi Tuyet did not have good results in this competition.
In the women's 5km professional event, Nguyen Thi Oanh finished first with a result of 16 minutes 30 seconds. She officially won the 10th consecutive title in the event at the National Marathon Championship of Tien Phong Newspaper.
In the men's 10km professional event, national team player Luong Duc Phuoc finished first (31 minutes 55 seconds) while Nguyen Trung Cuong finished first in the men's 21km event. However, Trung Cuong's results are only for testing. The first runner-up in the women's 21km professional event is Le Thi Lam (1 hour 20 minutes 18 seconds).
