On the morning of December 1, the second stage of the Viettel Marathon of Indochina took place in Hanoi. With a beautiful AAA standard running course, more than 10,000 athletes flocked to My Dinh National Stadium to participate in the race.
Previously, the first stage in Luang Prabang set a record for the number of participants with 5,000 athletes participating.
At the Viettel Marathon Hanoi stage, the competition route meets the standards of the Asian Athletics Federation, with the advantage of a relatively straight and spacious suburban running track, helping athletes to stride comfortably and achieve good results.
The advanced full marathon distance witnessed intense competitions. On the 42.194km men's race, record holder Hoang Nguyen Thanh and his senior Nguyen Van Lai had a dramatic battle right from the first kilometers. In the end, Nguyen Thanh surpassed Van Lai in the last kilometers to reach the finish line first, becoming the full marathon champion of the Viettel Marathon Vietnam course with a time of 2 hours 28 minutes 21 seconds. Nguyen Van Lai finished just 1 second later.
Soon after, the women’s full marathon race witnessed the national record breaking performance of Nguyen Thi Oanh. Last September, Nguyen Thi Oanh set a record at the Techcombank Hanoi International Marathon with a time of 2 hours 44 minutes 20 seconds.
On the Viettel Marathon track, Nguyen Thi Oanh finished with a time of 2 hours 39 minutes 49 seconds, while Ngoc Hoa achieved a time of 2 hours 47 minutes 42 seconds. Thus, a new national record was officially set at Viettel Marathon.
Under the coordination of the Vietnam Athletics Federation, the supervision and professional advice of the Asian Athletics Federation has opened a new direction for marathons in Hanoi, which is to the suburbs instead of the center, with an open running track, avoiding traffic jams and affecting people's lives.
Right after the Hanoi leg, Viettel Marathon will take athletes to Angkor Wat, Cambodia on December 22, 2024.
