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Vietnam Trail Marathon to attract over 3,000 runners
  • | dtinews.vn, TTX | January 07, 2020 08:46 PM

Nearly 3,100 runners from 42 countries are joining in the Vietnam Trail Marathon (VTM) due to be held in the northern mountainous province of Son La's Moc Chau District on January 11.



Runners race up to 70km on trails through orchards and tea fields set among beautiful mountains and valleys in Moc Chau. Photo from the organiser.

The event, which is organised by Topas Travel Company, will see runners race up to 70km on trails through orchards and tea fields set among beautiful mountains and valleys.

According to the organiser, the number of runners at the second VTM is up by 65 per cent compared to 2019.


"The wonderful trails and welcoming local people have made good impression on runners after the first edition last year," the organiser said. "The sharp rise in the number of competitors will make this year's event more memorable."

In the men’s 70 km race, last year’s VTM 70 km champion, Tran Duy Quang, will return. Another famous participant is Do Trong Nhon who took second place at his early trail races including Vietnam Jungle Marathon 55km and Vietnam Mountain Marathon (VMM) 70 km in 2019.

They will also be competing with strong runner from Hong Kong Ka Hei Lam, who won the Raleigh Challenge Wilson Trail in 2018.

In the 70 km female battle, VMM 2018's 100km champion Evelyn Lek of Singapore will be competing with Nguyen Thi Duong, who has been on many ultra run podiums.

In the 42 km, the overall Vietnam Trail Series champion Trinh Nam Hai will be back and so will his female counterpart, Belgium’s Vanja Cnops, who also won VTM in 2019.

This year she will be competing against Joane Etiene, a strong runner from Switzerland.

“I will race the VTM 42 km again and I will try to do better than last year. If the race course and the conditions are similar, it will be a good chance to check if I have made any improvements,” said Cnops.

Lining up with more than 1,000 10km runners at this year’s event is British Ambassador Gareth Ward, who will be running on trails for the first time.

Charity


Like other races by Topas, USD20 from every long distance (21 km-70 km) registration goes direct to charity.

Almost USD40,000 will be divided between local projects around Moc Chau, Newborns Vietnam, which works to increase life chances for newborns babies, and Topas’ new charity partner Blue Dragon, which helps end human trafficking and to provide care to Vietnamese children and families in crisis.

The VTM is among Vietnam Trail Series launched by the Topas Travel Company. Since its first launch in 2013, the series has donated more than USD250,000 to charity activities of Operation Smile and Newborns Vietnam.

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